Cancellation
1965
Bruce Conner (American, 1933-2008)
Not on View

This print, one of the earliest examples of conceptual printmaking, reflects Bruce Conner’s somewhat strained fellowship at Tamarind. Its subject refers to Tamarind’s editioning conventions, which insisted, among other stipulations, that once a stone had been cancelled, it could not be used to make any more impressions, and that each print had to be signed (Conner opted to use his thumbprint instead). When Conner wanted to edition a cancelled lithograph, Calvin Goodman, a business consultant who was overseeing the shop while June Wayne was abroad, stopped production. Goodman was clearly ill equipped to handle Conner’s conceptual explorations, allegedly confronting the artist by exclaiming, “What is this crap you’re trying to put over here?” When Wayne returned, she was amused and respectful of the artist’s boundary-pushing, and she immediately ordered production to continue.

Details

  • Artist Name: Bruce Conner (American, 1933-2008)
  • Title: Cancellation
  • Date: 1965
  • Medium: Lithograph
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 21 1/2 x 32 in. (54.61 x 81.28 cm.)
  • Publisher: Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Inc.
  • Printer: Kenneth Tyler
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Anonymous Gift
  • Accession Number: P.1967.20.074
  • Copyright: © 2018 Conner Family Trust, San Francisco / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Reproduction, including downloading of ARS works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Object Information

The Original Print: An Introduction to Printmaking in the Postwar Period

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2011-10-02 to 2012-04-02
  • Lehmbeck, Leah et al., Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California, 2011, Fig. 87 p. 126

Additional Artwork by Artist

Green Line Bruce Conner 1965
HOMAGE TO MINNIE MOUSE Bruce Conner 1959
Jelly Fish Bruce Conner 1965

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