Silence

Over the last century, many artists have used silence as subject matter and medium, exploring it as symbol, phenomenon, memorial device, and oppressive force. Silenceexamines the ways 29 artists invoke silence to shape space and consciousness, most after John Cage's 4'33"(1952). Among this carefully curated selection are Josef Beuys's The Silence of Marcel Duchamp is Overrated(1964) and works by several artists who matured in the 1960s and 70s, including Bruce Nauman and Marcel Broodthaers; documentation of Tehching Hsieh's One Year Performance 1978-79, in which the artist spent a year in a cage without speaking, reading, writing, or engaging with any media; and Andy Warhol's Electric Chair paintings. Other artists featured in the publication include Robert Rauschenberg and Ad Reinhardt, represented by white or black paintings; Jennie C. Jones, Jacob Kirkegaard, Christian Marclay, Amalia Pica, Doris Salcedo, Tino Sehgal, Martin Wong; and intermedia artists Steve Roden and Steven Vitiello. Over forty full-color plates, including previously unpublished images, complement three thought-provoking essays and artist biographies.

Toby Kamps is curator of modern and contemporary art at The Menil Collection. Steve Seid is video curator at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive.