© Juan Downey / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Currently not on view
Against Shadows,
1969
Juan Downey, 1940–1993; born Santiago, Chile; died New York, NY; active New York, NY
y1973-82
Kinetic art in the Forbes Collection exemplifies the period of technological idealism that followed World War II, leading artists to experiment with electricity and industrial materials to develop work that could transcend the idea of artistic medium and recenter the meaning of art in the perceptual experience of the viewer. Additionally, this practice presages the increasing globalization of the art world in the second half of the twentieth century and the diasporic experience of artists from Europe and Latin America following the war.
Information
Title
Against Shadows
Dates
1969
Maker
Medium
Plywood, formica, light bulbs, and electronic parts
Dimensions
top section: 99 × 99 × 33 cm (39 × 39 × 13 in.)
bottom section: 53.3 × 53.3 × 28.4 cm (21 × 21 × 11 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The Forbes Magazine Collection
Object Number
y1973-82
Place Made
North America, United States, New York, New York
Description
144 light bulbs used for large, wall-mounted panel.
Culture
Type
Materials
Howard Wise Gallery, New York, NY;
purchased by The Forbes Magazine Collection;
1973, gift to Princeton University Art Museum
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1974", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 33, no. 1 (1974): p. 37-47., p. 46; p. 47 (illus.)
- Luis R. Cancel, et. al., The Latin American spirit: art and artists in the United States, 1920-1970, (New York: The Bronx Museum of Arts in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1988).
