Joan Brossa

Eina Morta [Dead Tool]

previous next

About this artwork

Although he is known primarily as an artist, Brossa’s object poems are only one branch of his wide conception of poetry. He believed that the idea rather than the medium was of central importance. Brossa began making object-poems in 1943, and they are typically perverse, ironic and humorous, either made by combining two unusual objects, or transforming an everyday item so that its function is removed. Here, a pair of scissors literally became a ‘dead tool,’ unable to be put to their intended use. Brossa’s love of magic and conjuring tricks can be connected to his playful object-poems. He explained that "Poetry and magic are the same thing. Art is a metamorphosis, basically, and magic too."

Updated before 2020

see media
  • artist:
    Joan Brossa (1919 - 1998) CatalanSpanish
  • title:
    Eina Morta [Dead Tool]
  • date created:
    1988
  • materials:
    Steel mounted on wood
  • measurements:
    13.50 x 6.50 x 0.50 cm (scissors size) 21.80 x 21.80 x 2.40 (installed size)
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Presented anonymously 2004
  • accession number:
    GMA 4714
  • gallery:
  • subject:
Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Tell us what you think.

Joan Brossa

Joan Brossa