We took 100 boots down to the beach to look at the sea. From 1971 to 1973, the conceptual and performance artist eleanor antin traveled with one hundred pairs of black rubber rain boots from california to new york. Eleanor antin s 100 boots is a work which took 2 years to originally create, but continues to unfold 40 years later. Caption text is transcribed from the postcard versos on exhibition at 100 boots a continuing narrative. Modeled on the literary form of the picaresque an episodic, often disjointed story that follows the exploits of its protagonist, the postcards document the adventures of one hundred empty boots as they march from the beach in san diego to streets of new york. Eleanor antin began her career as a stage actress and paintercumassemblagist in the late 1950s. The photographs are from 100 boots, a conceptual series of 51 pictures of black rubber boots photographed in various locations from. She is the recipient of a national endowment for the arts individual artist grant in 1979, a guggenheim. Eleanor antin describes the evolution of this epic visual narrative in a small introduction at the beginning of the 100 boots book collection. The lost picture show opens on february 24 th, 2017 6 8 pm and runs through april 9 th at alden projects. Beginning as a conceptual artist in the 1960s, antin. But sometimes he looked restless rounding a corner to. Eleanor antin, 100 boots facing the sea harmony blog.
Artwork info artwork title 100 boots artist name eleanor antin date created 19711973 classification photograph medium gelatin silver prints dimensions 51 prints, each. By visiting our website or transacting with us, you agree to this. Eleanor antin 100 boots ace high, from the series 100 boots, a set of 51 photopostcards, 1972. Eleanor antin has been honored with two retrospectives, eleanor antin.
Available for sale from richard saltoun, eleanor antin, 100 boots on the job, long beach, california 1972, vintage gelatin silver print mounted on board. Eleanor antin 100 boots down 1972 available for sale. A picture postcard came to your mailbox and it was an object you held in. Executed on 15 march 1971 9 june 1973, this work is from an edition of fifteen. To find out more, including which thirdparty cookies we place and how to manage cookies, see our privacy policy. Browse more artworks eleanor antin from ronald feldman gallery. For this piece, antin placed and had photographed onehundred boots in various spots in southern california and turned these photographs created by philip steinmetz into postcards which were then mailed to approximately one thousand artists. All 51 photographs are in black and white and each opposing page of the photos offers the title of the piece, the date and place it was taken and the date the card was mailed out. Comprised of fiftyone photographic postcards, antin s 100 boots is an epic visual narrative in which 100 black rubber boots stand in for a fictional hero making a trip from california to new york city. An influential performance artist, filmmaker, and installation artist, antin delves into historywhether of ancient rome, the crimean war, the salons of nineteenthcentury europe, or her own jewish heritage and yiddish cultureas a way to explore the present. She was inspired by the techniques of yiddish theater and michelangelo antonioni, as well as those of marcel duchamp and fluxus. On view at alden projects are photo panels and vintage printed, gelatin silver prints.
Eleanor antin series of postcards depicting 100 black, rubber boots in various situations. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Eleanor antin, 100 boots facing the sea, 1971, from the series 100 boots, a set of 51 photopostcards, 1971. The lost picture show, curated by alden projects in collaboration with eleanor antin, brings to light lost and mostly unknown pictures of the boots in california and new york, most approximately the same range of scale as listed above. It documents the boots in a mock picaresque photo diary, beginning at the pacific ocean and ending in new york. Eleanor antin archives of women artists, research and. An influential performance artist, filmmaker, and installation artist, antin delves into historywhether of ancient rome, the crimean war, the salons of nineteenthcentury europe, or her own jewish heritage and.
In this project, she s et u p 100 b oots in various configurations and settings, photographed them, and created 51 postcards of the images that were mailed to hundreds of recipients around the world from 197173. The idea of taking a series of photos of 100 boots and then mailing them as postcards appealed to me immensely, even though i was not alive at the time of of the postcards. In the spirit of fluxus, she mailed the postcards to artists, curators, dancers, critics, and writers from. Antin arranged the 50 pairs of boots as different scenes in each postcard to collectively form a picaresque novel. In 1968 antin moved across the country, from new york to california. Within the nascent years of the 1970s, the flock of boots were thoughtfully arranged and photographically documented in a series of settings, primarily in the. We took him to the market, the bank, and the church. About this artwork currently off view prints and drawings artist eleanor antin title 100 boots in the park origin united states date 1973 medium photooffset postcard on white wove paper.
But i was tired of traveling into new york to show. We are dedicated to collecting and exhibiting contemporary art. Working within a range of media including photography, film, writing and installation antin has explored a stream of selves, influenced by everything from yiddish theatre to european. Eleanor antin, 100 boots ace high, from the series 100 bo. Eleanor antin, 100 boots looking for a job, san clemente, california, 1972, vintage gelatin silver print mounted on board, 31. This exhibition presents recently discovered vintage photographs by eleanor antin from her personal collection, expanding our understanding of the peripatetic adventures of her most celebrated series, 100 boots 197173. Available for sale from richard saltoun, eleanor antin, 100 boots down 1972, vintage gelatin silver print mounted on board, 17. The transmission and reception 1979 is a conceptual series of postcards depicting black rubber boots displayed across the american landscape. Not only do the 100 boots tell a story through pictures, the photos themselves are wonderful works of art.
I always knew they would have to enter a museum to become art, said mrs. Artwork info artwork title 100 boots ace high, from the series 100 boots, a set of 51 photopostcards artist name eleanor antin. Based at the university of california, san diego, eleanor antin worked in a broad range of unconventional formats, including mail art. Beginning in 1971, antin introduced 100 black rubber boots 50 pairs as the protagonists of her newest narrative.
Antin, who also queued the boots up yesterday outside the front door. Images of eleanor antin s personas are reproduced from the following sources. Ea snail mail was a very different experience from the internet. The name, 100 boots, takes inspiration from conceptual and performance artist eleanor antin s series of photopostcards documenting the staged travels of 100 pairs of black rubber boots across the united states in the early 1970s, suggesting a democratic notion of assembly and community. When eleanor antin first began her journey with 100 boots, she had also recently embarked on a journey of her own. View 100 boots at the bank by eleanor antin on artnet. Over twoandahalf years, antin photographed the boots against different backdrops across the u. Celebrating the 100 boots postcard series from the 1970s, this collection features all 51 images from performance artist eleanor antin s visual narrative. King of solana beach from the santa monica museum of art, eleanor nightingale from yowzer.
One of conceptual and performance artist eleanor antin s bestknown works, 100 boots is a work of mail art documenting the staged travels of 100 pairs of black rubber boots, which begin a picaresque adventure in california and end with a whirlwind excursion through new york. Brown unstructured hat buckled closer 100 % biowashed chino twill a seminal figure in the history of performance art, eleanor antin is one of the most prolific artists of the last three decades, moving freely in many forms of media, including live and installation art, independent film, photography, video, drawing, painting and writing. Eleanor antin, 100 boots facing the sea, 1971, vintage gelatin silver print mounted on board, 27. Her versatile art practice was conceptual by design, though leavened by black humor and pageantry. A retrospective, organized at washington university gallery of art in st.
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