John Cage - Editions & Works on Paper New York Monday, October 24, 2022 | Phillips

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  • Not Wanting to Say Anything About Marcel (1969), was created to honor the passing of his friend and mentor, Marcel Duchamp. Each of the eight “Plexigrams” is comprised of silkscreened Plexiglas panels. Through chance operations, Cage randomly selected words and numbers from the dictionary and transposed them onto Plexiglas in a disintegrating composition. Assembled together, the Plexigrams resemble a translucent tombstone with ghostly, fading inscriptions. The title refers to a comment Jasper Johns made to Cage when artists were encouraged to respond in memoriam to Duchamp’s death, “I don’t want to say anything about Marcel.” Duchamp’s iconic The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), (1915–23) as well as Robert Rauschenberg’s Revolvers (1967) had a significant impact on Cage’s thinking when conceiving of this suite of works. - James Cohan Gallery, 2015

341

Not Wanting to Say Anything About Marcel: Plexigram II

1969
The complete set of eight screenprints in colors, each on Rohm and Haas Plexiglas panels, installed on a stained and waxed walnut base, with accompanying publication to 'To Describe the Process of Composition Used In Not Wanting To Say Anything About Marcel'.
14 3/4 x 24 x 14 1/2 in. (37.5 x 61 x 36.8 cm)
Numbered 105/125 in black marker on a piece of tape adhered to the edge of the base (there were also 18 in Roman numerals), published by EYE Editions, Cincinnati.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$2,500 - 3,500 

Sold for $3,780

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Editions & Works on Paper

New York Auction 24 - 26 October 2022