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.