Noiseless Blackboard Eraser
Artist
Joseph Beuys
German, 1921 - 1986
Date1974
MediumFelt with printed and stamped label
DimensionsOverall: 2 × 5 1/8 × 1 in. (5.1 × 13 × 2.5 cm)
Pedestal/Pad/Case: 3 × 18 × 3 in. (7.6 × 45.7 × 7.6 cm)
Pedestal/Pad/Case: 3 × 18 × 3 in. (7.6 × 45.7 × 7.6 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of Robert S. Risman, Jr.
Object number1988.12.10
On View
Not on viewCollections
- Sculpture
- European Paintings & Sculpture
SignedLeft side of the label, in ink, cursive "Joseph Beuys"
InscribedLL edition handwritten in black ink: (see description)
An inscription in the upper right appears to be in Beuys' handwriting and begins with L and has the letter z at the end. Beuys is said to have inscribed the 550 erasers in this series with the place names of the cities where he did public lectures when he visited the US in 1974, which included New York, Chicago and Minneapolis. This inscription does not look like any of those names. [the erasers are associated with his use of a blackboard on which he created a drawing during his US lectures. He was asked if the blackboard drawing could be bought and he immediately erased that one; however, other chalkboards were not erased and are known in collections. The fact that the erasers are over-stamped with the address of the Organization for Direct Democracy, which Beuys created, indicates that these erasers were not actually used during those lectures. They are like those he would have used in NY, but these were designed afterwards as one of his multiples]
Stamped in green ink on top of the main manufacturer's label: "ORGANIZATION FOR/DIRECT DEMOCRACY/THROUGH REFERENDUM/INFORMATION CENTER/4 DUSSELDORF/And(er?)strasse 25/Telefon 1-48-39"
The printed label on the top of the eraser reads "NOISELESS BLACKBOARD ERASER/NEW YORK BLACKBOARD, INC./139 SPRING STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y./Telephone 966-0555" and in a column to the right of this their products are also listed: "BLACKBOARDS/CORK BULLETIN/BOARDS/CABINET BULLETIN/BOARD.OAK AND ALUMINUM/FRAMING/ACCESSORIES"
DescriptionThree chalk board erasers each with its own edition number; 15/550; 25/550, and 62/550. A Beuys multiple related to his 1974 lecture tour in US, but made afterward. Stamped with the address of the Organization of Direct Democracy, founded by Beuys.Exhibition History"After 1960: Selected Works from the Permanent Collection," Hoopes Gallery, The Hyde Collection, May 19- July 28, 2002."Pieces: Collage, Constructions, & Conceptual Art," Hoopes Gallery, The Hyde Collection, May 15- Oct. 2005.
"50 at 50: Five Decades of Collecting at the Hyde". Wood Gallery, Education Wing, Hyde House, The Hyde Collection. Glens Falls, January 16, 2013 -April 14, 2013
ProvenanceDiamond Point, NY, Robert S. Risman
1988, Glens Falls, NY, The Hyde Collection Trust
