Minimal Snail on a Primary Structure
About this artwork
This sculpture was one of a series of spoofs on modern art made by Paolozzi in 1971 for his retrospective exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London. The red sculpture was based on a work by the American minimalist artist Donald Judd. By adding a child’s toy snail to the top of the structure, Paolozzi humorously removes the seriousness and gravity of minimalist sculpture, true to the tradition of surrealism. The combination of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture - the artistic and the everyday, is seen throughout his oeuvre.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Eduardo Paolozzi (1924 - 2005) Scottish
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title:Minimal Snail on a Primary Structure
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date created:1971
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materials:Wood, metal and paint
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measurements:15.50 x 12.70 x 29.00 cm (figure size)
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Eduardo Paolozzi
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accession number:GMA.A.40.1/2537
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gallery:
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subject:
Eduardo Paolozzi
Eduardo Paolozzi
Of Italian descent, Paolozzi was born in Leith near Edinburgh. He studied in Edinburgh and London and spent two years in Paris from 1947, where he produced enigmatic, bronze sculptures reminiscent of those by Giacometti. During the same period he made a series of dada and surrealist-inspired...