Label Text
Joel Shapiro adapted the rigid, geometric shapes of the Minimalism movement of the 1970s to create his particular interpretation of the human figure. Hard-edged rectangles rather than soft organic masses come together to create a recognizable human form, despite the lack of naturalistic detail. In Untitled, the figure leans back on one arm, with its legs splayed widely across the platform. The fourth appendage can be read as either a downturned head or the second arm reaching upward. Shapiro's figures are often posed awkwardly, seeming off balance or in the midst of an ungraceful motion, and this ungainliness lends the work personality and a warm, human vulnerability. Shapiro himself says the sculpture is "definitely about stretch and compression; about reach and contraction."
Published References"John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park", Lea Rosson DeLong, ed., Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, 1923, pp. 124-127
Published References"John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park", Lea Rosson DeLong, ed., Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, 1923, pp. 124-127
DimensionsOverall: 87 × 99 × 46 in., 1000 lb. (221 × 251.5 × 116.8 cm, 453.6 kg.)
Accession Number 2015.22
Classificationssculpture
CopyrightARS
Provenance(Paula Cooper). John and Mary Pappajohn [purchased from previous, 1986]; Des Moines Art Center [gift from previous, 2015]