Mel Bochner
3 Photographs and 1 Diagram (Row E)

3 Photographs and 1 Diagram (Row E)

© Mel Bochner

3 Photographs and 1 Diagram (Row E)
3 Photographs and 1 Diagram (Row E)
ArtistAmerican, born 1940
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • 3 Photographs and 1 Diagram (Row E)
Date1966–1999
PlaceUnited States
MediumGelatin silver print
Dimensionsimage/sheet: 18 15/16 × 18 15/16 (48.1 × 48.1 cm)
frame: 22 3/8 × 22 3/8 in. (56.8 × 56.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the S. I. Morris Photography Endowment
Object number2000.596.A-.D
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

Better known for his
extremely spare sculptural installations and text-based work, Mel Bochner
worked intensively with photographs for about three years, starting in 1966. 3 Photographs and 1 Diagram (Row E) is
the fifth of twelve rows (A through L) that together comprise 36 Photographs and 12 Diagrams (1966).


Using a set of small wooden blocks, the artist
set up a new arrangement based on a different diagram every day in his studio.
When he was invited to show the work at the Dwan Gallery in New York, he had
each configuration photographed in plan, elevation, and corner perspective.
Drawn to the “literal” objects and serial composition of Minimal art, Bochner
imitated the Minimalists’ use of industrial production and had a professional
take the photographs in order to ensure their “objectivity.” Located on a stark
white ground, the structures almost resemble specimens. However, in spite of
the regularity of the system and the careful control of the photographic
process, the images could not deliver on the promise of objectivity—distortions
resulting from shadows, foreshortenings, and the curvature caused by the
blocks’ different distances from the lens all combine to produce less than
straightforward documents.


Provenance[Curt Marcus Gallery, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 2000.
Exhibition HistoryExhibited: "Contemporary Art and Photography: Spotlight on the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," MFAH, Upper Brown Pavilion, September 30, 2001 - February 3, 2002.

Exhibited: "Contemporary Photography from the Collection of the MFAH", at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, August 15, 2003-January 4, 2004.

"Ruptures and Continuities: Photography Made after 1960 from the MFAH Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Brown Foundation Galleries, February 21 - May 9, 2010.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
A only) Back label: "SONNABEND..."

Marked on backboard: "MB.535"

Back label: "CURT MARCUS GALLERY 578 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10012..."

Label on backboard: "HAND/MADE/FRAMES/Inc./Showroom: 526 W. 26th St. N.Y., N.Y...."

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Untitled (Violet/Red)
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Etchings with aquatint on watercolor paper
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1993
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2000
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2002.420
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1993
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94.113.6