2005.83, Jim Lambie, The Doors (Morrison Hotel), 2005

Sampling, remixing, and mashing up the formalism of fine art and popular culture, Glasgow-based artist Jim Lambie has put a fresh spin on Robert Rauschenberg's idea of "acting in the gap between art and life." A former musician, Jim Lambie draws inspiration from music for many of his works, often referring to iconic bands or songs in his titles. The Doors (Morrison Hotel) references The Doors' fifth studio album.

Lambie's Doors series recontextualizes the "door" - a common architectural staple and a literary symbol for passage, transition, enlightenment, and beginning - presenting it in the gallery as a minimalist object. Framed with mirrors, The Doors casts starburst-like shadows, creating an illusion of a light shining beyond their surface. Like the flowers in the vase that novelist and critic Aldous Huxley saw when under the influence of mescaline on May 5, 1953 in Los Angeles (The Doors of Perception, published the following year, details his psychedelic experience), The Doors "shine with their own inner light." Regarding the name of the band The Doors, lead singer Jim Morrison once said, "There are things to be known and there are things unknown and in between are the Doors."

2005: Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY [1]

From 2005: Dallas Museum of Art and The Rachofsky Collection, purchased from above

[1] See copy of check #12084 in Collections Records Object File 2005.83

Apply to objects where number equals 2005.83