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Allan McCollum

Four Plaster Surrogates

Maker

Allan McCollum (American, b. 1944)

Title

Four Plaster Surrogates

Year

1984

Medium

  • enamel on cast hydrocal,
  • four parts

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • enamel on cast hydrocal,
  • four parts

Materials

hydrocal

Dimensions

19.7 x 18.4 cm (7 3/4 x 7 1/4 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Mary B. Jackson Fund

Object Number

2004.87

Type

  • Sculpture

Exhibition History

Multi-Part Art
Contemporary Works in the Collection
Jul 11, 2008 – Mar 29, 2009

Label copy

McCollum’s Four Plaster Surrogates is a group of related rectangular objects that differ somewhat in size and frame color. They resemble conventional paintings on canvas, but they are actually cast-plaster simulations whose blank surfaces have

no visible content. The painting surrogates are so

similar and impersonal that they seem to be mech­anically mass-produced. By subverting traditional categories and aesthetic values such as style, subject matter, craftsmanship, personal expression, and originality, McCollum questions the role of artworks today and the artists who produce them. He underscores the social and economic function of art as a commodity and how it may serve as decoration or as an empty sign of class, power, and prestige.

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Allan McCollum (American, b. 1944)
Four Plaster Surrogates, 1984
enamel on cast hydrocal; four parts
19.7 x 18.4 cm (7 3/4 x 7 1/4 inches)
Mary B. Jackson Fund 2004.87

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