Description
Sitting blindfolded, behind a rope that kept him from being disturbed, artist William Anastasi talked into a recording device connected to a computer. The computer translated his vocal statements into text, which was visible on the monitor and then printed out and posted on the wall. The random mistakes and misunderstandings that occurred in the translation created a new text, devoid of the artist's control and intent. For instance, the artist said, "Duchamp," and the computer printed out "the champ."
About the Artist
William Anastasi is one of the founders of both Conceptual and Minimal Art - relevant works were made before the movements were named. These works, starting in 1961, include
Relief and
Microphone, among the earliest examples of Conceptual Art. Between 1963 and 1966, we have
Sink - a clear demonstration of entropy - and
Issue and
Trespass - important forerunners to an entire class of works involving deconstruction.
Sink (which combines his Conceptual and Minimal approaches) and
En Route, are among the earliest forays into Minimal Art. Holding that after Duchamp there was no earthly reason why a blind man could not be an artist, his unsighted drawings were also started in 1963. His 1966/67
Six Sites broke the ground for an entire genre of exhibitions under the rubric Site Specific. Underlying his practice is his sense that the only thing that interests him about taste is that it is always changing.
