Robert Cumming
For several years the lunchbox and briefcase were left at the foot of the stairs. It took several months to get used to the new location by the base of the screen.

For several years the lunchbox and briefcase were left at the foot of the stairs. It took several months to get used to the new location by the base of the screen.

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Artist Robert Cumming American, 1943–2021

CultureAmerican

Titles

For several years the lunchbox and briefcase were left at the foot of the stairs. It took several months to get used to the new location by the base of the screen.

Date1974

PlaceUnited States

MediumGelatin silver prints

DimensionsImage: 7 9/16 × 9 5/8 in. (19.2 × 24.4 cm)
Sheet: 7 7/8 × 9 7/8 in. (20 × 25.1 cm)
Image: 7 5/8 × 9 11/16 in. (19.4 × 24.6 cm)
Sheet: 7 7/8 × 9 7/8 in. (20 × 25.1 cm)
Mount: 19 15/16 × 30 in. (50.6 × 76.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of Arnold and Temmie Gilbert

Object number84.798.A,.B

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionRobert Cumming is aware of the power of captions on our understanding of what we see. Here, he pairs two staged photographs of a lunchbox and a briefcase and undercuts our perception of these objects with an absurd narrative about them moving from place to place. While the title implies that the lunchbox and briefcase are in motion, in the photographs, they clearly stand still. What "move" in these images are the riotous and distracting patterns of the zigzag wallpaper and striped floors, stairs, and screen. Our eyes perceive one reality, the words suggest another. As Cummings plays with words and images, he asks which is more important: the objects and images that we actually see, or the words that guide our interpretation?
ProvenanceArnold Gilbert and Temmie Gilbert; given to MFAH, 1984.
Exhibition History"The Alternative Image III: Visual Paradox," John Michael Kohler Arts Center, New York, December 6, 1987–February 14, 1988.

"The Manipulated Environment," Houston Center for Photography, January 30–March 15, 1987.

"Robert Cumming L'oeuvre photographique 1969-1980/Retrospective," Fonds Regional D'Art Contemporain, Limoges, France, August 4–October 29, 1994.

"Robert Cumming: Photographic Works, 1969-1980," The Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh, January 26–March 9, 1995.

"Contemporary Art and Photography: Spotlight on the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 30, 2001–February 3, 2002.

"Ruptures and Continuities: Photography Made after 1960 from the MFAH Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 21–May 9, 2010.

"Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974–1981," Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, October 2, 2011–February 13, 2012.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

below image A. in pencil " FOR SEVERAL YEARS THE LUNCHBOX AND BRIEFCASE WERE LEFT AT THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS "
below image B. in pencil " IT TOOK SEVERAL MONTHS TO GET USRD TO THE NEW LOCATION BY THE BASE OF THE SCREEN "
verso of mount in pencil right center reading vertically " J40 "
bottom right corner " #19 "

bottom right below image B. in pencil " Cumming 1974 "

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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