NO SHOW MUSEUM

2nd

The Art of Doing Nothing

The Art of Destruction

1st

i Robert Barry

Energy Field (AM 130 KHz), 1968

Inert Gas Series, 1969

88 mc Carrier Waves (FM), 1968,
and 1600 kc Carrier Wave (AM), 1968.

1600 kc Carrier Wave (AM), 1968. Installation view

Radiation Piece: Cesium 137, 1969

Energy Field (AM 130 KHz), 1968

*1936 in New York City, USA. Lives and works in New Jersey, USA

American artist

Known for: Invisible conceptual art pieces

Historical context: Conceptual Art Movement (1960ies)

Exhibited works

Energy Field (AM 130 KHz), 1968 1st \| B		Robert Barry's works and performances in the late 60s revolve around the void by working exclusively with materials that are below human's point of perception or perceiveable only under certain conditions: radio waves, radioactive rays, electromagnetic fields, gases, thoughts ...

88 mc Carrier Waves (FM) and 1600 kc Carrier Wave (AM), 1968. 1st \| B		"It was a little module that sent out a silent signal, what's called a carrier wave. This one also had a little standard signal, at 1,600 megahertz. And I liked that because if you came to the gallery with a portable radio you could hear the signal." (Robert Barry, 2009)

Inert Gas Series,1969 1st \| B		"The sculpture is all the molecules together, invisibly and endlessly expanding in the atmosphere. But the thing about inert gases is that they don't change chemically, they always stay the same. You can think about them as a unified whole. These were also noble gases, as I remembered them from high school. (…) It was an important volume. You start with something that's completely measured, a cubic foot of inert gas that's released into the expansive infinity. But it's also a cycle, since these gases originally come from the atmosphere. It's something we breathe in, it's always with us. And yet it's a totally conceptual piece because you can't visualize it, you can only imagine this endless expansion and the fact that it's recyled." (Robert Barry 2009)

Telepathic Piece,1969 BF \| B		The Telepathic Piece was performed during an exhibition at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and was announced as follows: "During the exhibition, I will try to communicate telepathically a work of art, the nature of which is a series of thoughts that are not applicable to language or image." (Robert Barry, 1969),

Radiation Piece: Cesium 137, 1969 1st \| B		Cesium 137 (0.51 MEV beta energy), H.L. 30 years. stored in a wooden box 18 x 12 x 5 cm. Robert Barry organized various radiation pieces, including the 0.5 Microcurie Radiation Installation in 1969, which lasted 10 years. "I buried four Barium-133 Capsules in two different locations in Central Park and took a photograph of the locations. As far as I know they're still here. And I also realiced another of those pieces, Uranyl Nitrate (UO2(NO3)2), up on the roof of the Kunsthalle in Bern for the exhibition When Attitudes Become Form the same year." (Robert Barry, 2009)

Closed Gallery Piece, 1969 2nd \| B		The only physical manifestation of this work consisted of the invitation announcing that the gallery was to be closed for the entirety of the exhibition. Closed Gallery Piece was performed at Eugenia Butler Gallery in Los Angeles ("THE GALLERY WILL BE CLOSED", 10.-21.03.1969), at Art & Project Gallery in Amsterdam ("During the exhibition the gallery will be closed", 17 - 31.12.1969) and at Galleria Sperone in Turin ("For the exhibition the gallery will be closed", 30.12.1969).

Untitled, 1969 BF \| A		Typewritten sentences on paper: Something I was once consious of, but have now forgotten. Something which is unknown for me, but which works upon me. Something that is taking shape in my mind and will sometime come to consiousness. Something that is searching for me and needs me to reveal itself.

Some places to which we can come, and for a while "be free to think about what we are going to do" (Marcuse), 1970 BF \| B		"This piece is about designating someting, a particular place, and seeing how this affects the situation. It leaves a lot open to the mental space of the viewers, and I think this is what art is about. It grew out of the idea that you walk into an empty gallery and as you read the title of the piece, you realize that it's filled with radio waves. How does that change the way you deal with that space?" (Robert Barry, 2009)

Links Galerie Yvon Lambert \| Sfeier Semler Gallery \| Further informations 1 \| 2 Credits All reproductions are courtesy of the artist © Robert Barry

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GF

A

B

The Art of Minimalism

The Art of Omission

The Art of Saying Nothing

BF

A

B

The Art of Saying Nothing

The Art of Pure Imagination

Energy Field (AM 130 KHz), 1968 1st \| B		Robert Barry's works and performances in the late 60s revolve around the void by working exclusively with materials that are below human's point of perception or perceiveable only under certain conditions: radio waves, radioactive rays, electromagnetic fields, gases, thoughts ...

88 mc Carrier Waves (FM) and 1600 kc Carrier Wave (AM), 1968. 1st \| B		"It was a little module that sent out a silent signal, what's called a carrier wave. This one also had a little standard signal, at 1,600 megahertz. And I liked that because if you came to the gallery with a portable radio you could hear the signal." (Robert Barry, 2009)

Inert Gas Series,1969 1st \| B		"The sculpture is all the molecules together, invisibly and endlessly expanding in the atmosphere. But the thing about inert gases is that they don't change chemically, they always stay the same. You can think about them as a unified whole. These were also noble gases, as I remembered them from high school. (…) It was an important volume. You start with something that's completely measured, a cubic foot of inert gas that's released into the expansive infinity. But it's also a cycle, since these gases originally come from the atmosphere. It's something we breathe in, it's always with us. And yet it's a totally conceptual piece because you can't visualize it, you can only imagine this endless expansion and the fact that it's recyled." (Robert Barry 2009)

Telepathic Piece,1969 BF \| B		The Telepathic Piece was performed during an exhibition at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and was announced as follows: "During the exhibition, I will try to communicate telepathically a work of art, the nature of which is a series of thoughts that are not applicable to language or image." (Robert Barry, 1969),

Radiation Piece: Cesium 137, 1969 1st \| B		Cesium 137 (0.51 MEV beta energy), H.L. 30 years. stored in a wooden box 18 x 12 x 5 cm. Robert Barry organized various radiation pieces, including the 0.5 Microcurie Radiation Installation in 1969, which lasted 10 years. "I buried four Barium-133 Capsules in two different locations in Central Park and took a photograph of the locations. As far as I know they're still here. And I also realiced another of those pieces, Uranyl Nitrate (UO2(NO3)2), up on the roof of the Kunsthalle in Bern for the exhibition When Attitudes Become Form the same year." (Robert Barry, 2009)

Closed Gallery Piece, 1969 2nd \| B		The only physical manifestation of this work consisted of the invitation announcing that the gallery was to be closed for the entirety of the exhibition. Closed Gallery Piece was performed at Eugenia Butler Gallery in Los Angeles ("THE GALLERY WILL BE CLOSED", 10.-21.03.1969), at Art & Project Gallery in Amsterdam ("During the exhibition the gallery will be closed", 17 - 31.12.1969) and at Galleria Sperone in Turin ("For the exhibition the gallery will be closed", 30.12.1969).

Untitled, 1969 BF \| A		Typewritten sentences on paper: Something I was once consious of, but have now forgotten. Something which is unknown for me, but which works upon me. Something that is taking shape in my mind and will sometime come to consiousness. Something that is searching for me and needs me to reveal itself.

Some places to which we can come, and for a while "be free to think about what we are going to do" (Marcuse), 1970 BF \| B		"This piece is about designating someting, a particular place, and seeing how this affects the situation. It leaves a lot open to the mental space of the viewers, and I think this is what art is about. It grew out of the idea that you walk into an empty gallery and as you read the title of the piece, you realize that it's filled with radio waves. How does that change the way you deal with that space?" (Robert Barry, 2009)

Links Galerie Yvon Lambert \| Sfeier Semler Gallery \| Further informations 1 \| 2 Credits All reproductions are courtesy of the artist © Robert Barry