2011.9, Pistoletto, Cubic Meter of Infinity (Metrocubo d'infinito)

In the late 1960s, Michelangelo Pistoletto was one of a group of Italian artists who attempted to break down the dichotomy between art and life, a movement that became known as Arte Povera. In late 1965 and January 1966, Pistoletto produced a radically different body of work, which he referred to as Minus Objects. In this group, of which Cubic Meter of Infinity is a key example, he broke with the dogma of uniform artistic style: each object differs from the others. Instead of being easily recognizable as one artist's work, the Minus Objects refuse simple categorization and even give the impression of a group show when displayed together. Although Cubic Meter of Infinity is made of materials similar to those used by the American Minimalist artists, it represents the opposite of what they wanted to convey. Minimalist works often have a mirrored exterior and reflect their surroundings in order to disappear into the world, while Pistoletto's cube is physically present—the mirror faces inward, where it extends into infinity, and the reverse of the mirror is blue.

Anna Katherine Brodbeck, ed., TWO X TWO X TWENTY: Two Decades Supporting Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art), 2018, 150.

Vimeo~Watch a short video of Michelangelo Pistoletto in conversation about his series Minus Objects.

Apply to objects where number equals 2011.9