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Collections

Mel Bochner
Language Is Not Transparent1970

Not on view
Large vertical painting with a ragged black field dripping long black streams down a white canvas, with white chalk-style text reading '1. LANGUAGE IS NOT TRANSPARENT'
Large-scale painting or work on paper with a black rectangular field, from which paint drips extend downward onto a white ground. White chalk-like lettering reads "1. LANGUAGE IS NOT TRANSPARENT" across three lines.

Mel Bochner, Language Is Not Transparent, 1970, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Modern and Contemporary Art Council Fund, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
Mel Bochner
United States, 1940–2025
Title
Language Is Not Transparent
Place Made
United States
Date Made
1970
Medium
Chalk on paint and wall
Dimensions
Template: 36 x 48 1/4 in. (91.44 x 122.56 cm); Installation: 72 x 48 1/4 in. (182.88 x 122.56 cm)
Credit Line
Modern and Contemporary Art Council Fund
Accession Number
M.2004.61
Classification
Conceptual Art
Collecting Area
Modern Art
Selected Bibliography
  • Barron, Stephanie, Michel Draguet, and Sara Cochran. Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Belgium: Ludion, 2006.
  • Kleeblatt, Norman L. Mel Bochner: Strong Language. New York: Jewish Museum, 2014.
  • Meyer, James. Los Angeles to New York: Dwan Gallery, 1959-1971. Washington: National Gallery of Art; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016.
  • Paul, Frédéric, ed. Points de Rencontres. Paris: Éditions du Centre Pompidou, 2019.
Copyright
© Mel Bochner