Joseph Kosuth · 1965
One and Three Chairs
Joseph Kosuth
One and Three Chairs
1965
Conceived by the American conceptual artist Joseph Kosuth in 1965, 'One and Three Chairs' is a foundational work of 1960s conceptualism. It is installed as three elements side by side: an actual wooden folding chair, a life-size photograph of that same chair, and a photographic enlargement of the dictionary definition of the word 'chair'. The piece asks how object, image, and language each lay claim to the same 'chair' — and since a new folding chair is acquired for each installation, only the concept is fixed. Acquired by MoMA in 1970, it has long served as the signature work of the museum's conceptual-art galleries.
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