Blind Time I

1973

Robert Morris

Associated Names
Robert Morris

Artist, American, 1931 - 2018

This drawing shows an abstract arrangement of dark, vertical marks forming layered, horizontal patterns across the canvas. These shapes resemble rows of densely packed, elongated ovals or finger-like impressions. There are roughly three rows, although they merge and overlap in places. Irregular spaces between the marks show the off-white paper beneath. Some of the marks are dark black, while others are lighter shades of gray. Some small words have been written in the bottom left corner.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    powdered graphite with plate oil and graphite inscription on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of the Collectors Committee

  • Dimensions

    overall: 88.9 x 116.8 cm (35 x 46 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2004.131.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Sonnabend Gallery, NY); purchased 2004 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1994

  • Robert Morris: The Mind/Body Problem, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Deichtorhallen Hamburg; and Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1994-1995.

1999

  • Afterimage: Drawing through Process, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1999, unnumbered catalogue.

2003

  • Robert Morris: Blind Time Drawings, Haim Chanin Fine Arts, New York, 2003, pp. 20-21, repro.

2008

  • Medieval to Modern: Recent Acquisitions of Drawings, Prints, and Illustrated Books, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2008, no. 190.

Bibliography

2005

  • Criqui, Jean-Pierre. Robert Morris: Blind Time Drawings, 1973-2000. Prato, 2005.

Inscriptions

in graphite; lower left: WITH THE EYES CLOSED THE TEN / FINGERS MOVE OUTWARD FROM THE / TOP CENTER MAKING COUNTING / STROKES. TWO THOUSAND STROKES / ARE MADE IN AN ESTIMATED TWO / MINUTES. TIME ESTIMATION ERROR: + 45 SECONDS.; lower rt: R. Morris / 73

Wikidata ID

Q64629002

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