Coin Noir

Art © Estate of James Rosenquist/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Coin Noir

Currently not on view

Coin Noir,

1977

James Rosenquist, American, 1933–2017
Printed at Aripeka Ltd. Editions and
Printed at Styria Studio, Inc.
Published by Sidney Singer
x1979-148
The title Coin Noir, French for "black corner," refers to the theoretical concept of the black hole, a term first used in the mid-1960s. Rosenquist plays with this notion by placing three spherical shapes—indicative of the moon as well as molecular and nuclear particles—in front of a black background speckled with white dots, creating a terrain akin to that of a starry night sky. With each astral element occupying the same amount of space, the size of the moon is equated to that of an atom. The artist, by setting up a tension between the macrocosmic and the microcosmic, insinuates that the universe abides by its own set of rules, that there is still much left for us to discover.

Information

Title
Coin Noir
Dates

1977

Maker
James Rosenquist
Published by Sidney Singer
Medium
Color lithograph and screenprint on rolled white Arches Cover paper
Dimensions
sheet: 93.3 x 188 cm. (36 3/4 x 74 in.) frame: 94.5 × 189.5 × 2.5 cm (37 3/16 × 74 5/8 × 1 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mario d'Urso
Object Number
x1979-148
Signatures
Signed and dated in graphite, bottom right: James Rosenquist 1977
Inscription
Numbered in graphite, bottom left: 91/100 Titled in graphite, center left: Coin Noir
Marks/Labels/Seals
Styria Studio blindstamp, bottom right
Reference Numbers
Glenn 125
Type
screen prints, lithographs, prints
Materials
printing ink
Techniques
screen printing
Subject
scientific concepts, stars

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