1) Art is a Jail; 2) Blueprint for Floating Prison for Artists; 3) Blueprint for Subterraneon Prison for Artists; 4) Blueprint for Prison on top of Column for Artists

Horacio Zabala (born 1943)

mima, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

1973

These four works are mima's first acquisition by a Latin American artist and mark the inauguration of a new strand of the collection looking at art from South America. They relate to the themes of language and sculpture examined in mima's collection. 'Art is a Jail' explores the use of language in drawing alongside works already in the collection by Lawrence Weiner, Adrian Piper and Robert Smithson. The blueprint drawings relate to the conception of three dimensional structures in 2D. Whilst using the tradition of architectural blueprints the repetition and development of simple forms within the structures and the concern with the relationship of the form to the ground take on sculptural qualities. These are not serious architectural proposals but rather considerations of forms that express a concept. These drawings were presented under the Art Fund International scheme together with a donation from the Pinta Art Fair.

• Medium: pencil on tracing paper
• Dimensions: 60.5 x 48cm
• Art Fund Grant: £22207.78 ( Total: £29,208)
• ArtFunded in: 2011
• Vendor: Henrique Faria Fine Art

Provenance

The artist.

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