2012.20.1.A-B Phase of Nothingness-Water | DMA Staging Content Management System

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

First realized in 1969 at the “9 th Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan” at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Phase of Nothingness-Water consists of two black-steel containers, a cylinder, and a rectangular cube, which are installed next to one another on the floor. Like most Mono-ha artists, Nobuo Sekine’s work aims to questions the traditions of Western art. Although Minimalism provided a point of departure for Mono-ha, Sekine felt it had a profoundly negative impact on Japanese modern art. As such, with Phase of Nothingness-Water Sekine sought to call into question Minimalist principles. For example, from certain angles these geometric forms appear to have hard-edged black surfaces; in actuality, however, the containers are open and filled to the brim with water. Reflecting the viewer and exhibition space in the pool of still water acknowledges the conscientious presence of one’s movement around the object and simultaneously the fragility of the organic liquid state. That the serenity of the surface can become distorted in an instant drop differentiates Sekine’s work from the more obdurate nature of other seemingly Minimalist art objects.

Excerpt from

Jeffrey Grove, DMA unpublished material, 2012.

NOTES

Focus On: Nobuo Sekine exhibition

Jeffrey Grove, Ph.D., The Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Acquisition Justification Nobuo Sekine, 2012. File on TAZ.

Catalogue essays

Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art

Artist/designers

Sekine, Nobuo (Japanese, b. 1942)

Cultures

Geography

Process/materials

Historical periods

1945-Present, Post World War II Japan

Individuals

Subject terms

Mono-ha

Minimalism (style)

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

Until 2012: The estate of Nobuo Sekine (b.1942)

2012: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

Notes:

The main source for this provenance is the copy of the Object Receipt form in the Collections Records object file.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

Dallas Museum of Art UNCRATED~Read more about Nobuo Sekine's works.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 2012.20.1.A-B

General Description

First realized in 1969 at the “9 th Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan” at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Phase of Nothingness-Water consists of two black-steel containers, a cylinder, and a rectangular cube, which are installed next to one another on the floor. Like most Mono-ha artists, Nobuo Sekine’s work aims to questions the traditions of Western art. Although Minimalism provided a point of departure for Mono-ha, Sekine felt it had a profoundly negative impact on Japanese modern art. As such, with Phase of Nothingness-Water Sekine sought to call into question Minimalist principles. For example, from certain angles these geometric forms appear to have hard-edged black surfaces; in actuality, however, the containers are open and filled to the brim with water. Reflecting the viewer and exhibition space in the pool of still water acknowledges the conscientious presence of one’s movement around the object and simultaneously the fragility of the organic liquid state. That the serenity of the surface can become distorted in an instant drop differentiates Sekine’s work from the more obdurate nature of other seemingly Minimalist art objects.