Repository

1961

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

The objects in this cabinet beg to be activated and handled. A key member of the Fluxus movement, Brecht choreographed events; more specifically, he turned objects into events by inviting the visitor’s engagement. Repository’s power relies on the strong stimulative nature of the items, and it could never be truly finished because the viewer and the event were always changing. Now that the work has entered an institutional context, however, the need to preserve it overrides the call to participation. Thus the concept of discovery is forestalled by museum practice, leaving the eventfulness of Repository unfulfilled.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Repository
Artist: George Brecht (American, New York 1926–2008 Cologne)
Date: 1961
Medium: Wall cabinet containing pocket watch, thermometer, plastic and rubber balls, baseball, plastic persimmon, "Liberty" statuette, wood puzzle, toothbrushes, bottlecaps, house number, plastic worm, pocket mirror, lightbulbs, keys, hardware, and photographs
Dimensions: 40 3/8 x 10 1/2 x 3 1/8" (102.6 x 26.7 x 7.7 cm)
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Larry Aldrich Foundation Fund, 1961
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art