August 2, 1995

Bruce Conner

1933–2008

August 2, 1995, 1995

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: paper; ink

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 38.5 x 42.5 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 15 3/16 x 16 3/4 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 48.8 x 48.5 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 3/16 x 19 1/8 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 23 1/2 x 24 3/4 x 2 in
Weight (Weight): 9 lbs

Credit line: Museum purchase: Peter T. Bohan Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 2000.0068

Not on display

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Cryptograph: An Exhibition for Alan Turing

Bruce Conner was active in many media and modes; his work spanned surrealism, cinema, assemblage, collage, and conceptual art. Throughout the 1990s he perfected a means of making drawings with multiple, nearly symmetrical inkblots. Conner was no doubt riffing on the work of the 1920s Swiss psychologist, Hermann Rorschach, who developed a psychological test that depended on the subject’s interpretation of inkblots. These interpretations or perceptions were then analyzed psychoanalytically or through the use of algorithms. Inkblots are made by applying ink to paper and then folding the paper while the ink is still wet so as to create a symmetrical (or nearly symmetrical) form by pressing the folded paper together and then opening it back up. Although seemingly random, Conner excelled at carefully controlling this process and he gave his drawings of multiple inkblots a sense of order through their grid-like organization. You can see the fan-like folds that made this drawing possible by pushing the button to illuminate the work from the side. That these near-symmetrical forms are made possible by folds is provocative in computing science and genomics, where “folding” structures to find meaning and calculate values is a particularly important technique.

Exhibition Label: "Cryptograph: An Exhibition for Alan Turing," Mar-2012, Stephen Goddard Bruce Conner was active in many media and modes; his work spanned surrealism, cinema, assemblage, collage, and conceptual art. Throughout the 1990s he perfected a means of making drawings with multiple, nearly symmetrical inkblots. Conner was no doubt riffing on the work of the 1920s Swiss psychologist, Hermann Rorschach, who developed a psychological test that depended on the subject's interpretation of inkblots. These interpretations or perceptions were then analyzed psychoanalytically or through the use of algorithms. Inkblots are made by applying ink to paper and then folding the paper while the ink is still wet so as to create a symmetrical (or nearly symmetrical) form by pressing the folded paper together and then opening it back up. Although seemingly random, Conner excelled at carefully controlling this process and he gave his drawings of multiple inkblots a sense of order through their grid-like organization. That these near-symmetrical forms are made possible by folds is provocative in computing science and genomics, where "folding" structures to find meaning and calculate values is a particularly important technique. SG Exhibition Label: "Sum of the Parts: Recent Works on Paper," Jun-2001, Stephen Goddard Conner’s fastidious inkblot drawings are beautiful explorations of symmetry that may also relate to motion as it is conveyed through strips of movie film.