RICHARD ARTSCHWAGER, BLP, 1978 [set of vinyl stickers]

RICHARD ARTSCHWAGER, BLP, 1978
each 22,2 x 8,9 cm
2 stickers, text on envelope (10,4 x 24 cm)
edition unknown
published by Clocktower, New York, USA, 1978
extremely rare
condition: excellent
€ 1.850,- plus € 18,- Track & Trace registered mail
inv.RArts 905

 

The two stickers, one in white and one in black, come in an envelope with printed text from an original type written description. These Blp’s were used for his installation at the Clocktower in New York, 1978.
In 1967 Richard Artschwager (1923 – 2013) introduces his Blips for the first time as an oval-shaped graffiti sign. These signs have been installed either vertical or horizontal as a device to focus on or draw attention to e.g. an empty gallery wall or a building front not commonly receptive for art.
Richard Artschwager first created his blps, pronounced as “blips” in the late 1960s. These installed black pill shaped forms or marks were meant to inspire focused looking and draw our attention to the places and things around us that often go unnoticed. Most of his “Blp’s” have a heavy material presence, usually made of wood, rubber or of a thick layer of hair. The sticker version is the most ephemeral work among the “Blp’s” and certainly of Richard Artschwager’s oeuvre.

Ref. Specific Object / David Platzker, New York:
‘Two vinyl self-adhesive ‘BLP’s, one each in white and black, from Richard Artschwager’s installation at the Clocktower, New York, April 5 – 29, 1978. Housed in facsimile of envelope provided to current owner.’