Eat Death

started 1972, published 1973

Bruce Nauman

Associated Names
Bruce Nauman

Artist, American, born 1941

Ron Olds

Printer, American, active late 20th century

Daniel Freeman

Printer, American, born 1868

Gemini G.E.L.

Publisher

The image displays overlapping lines and geometric shapes that spell out the word "DEATH" in both right-side-up and upside-down orientations. The letters are abstracted using linear sketches with variations in line thickness, creating a visual representation similar to light reflecting on a surface. The upper part of the image is lighter, while the lower part is denser and textured, resembling a mirrored reflection like looking through a foggy window at text.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    color lithograph on Arjomari wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Benjamin B. Smith

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 108 x 79 cm (42 1/2 x 31 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1985.47.135

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Cordes 1989, no. 13

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Benjamin B. Smith, Beverly Hills, California; acquired 1985 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Bibliography

1966

  • Gemini G.E.L. Sequence List. Los Angeles, California: Gemini G.E.L., unpublished, no. 431.

1989

  • Cordes, Christopher. Bruce Nauman: Prints 1970-89. New York: Castelli Graphics, 1989, p. 117, no. 13.

2011

  • Ritchie, Charles. Gemini G.E.L. Online Catalogue Raisonné. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2011, no. 36.2. http://www.nga.gov/gemini

Inscriptions

lower right on stone [reversed]: Eat / Death / Top; lower right in graphite: B Nauman 45/68 73; lower left verso in graphite by unknown hand: BN72-489

Markings

embossed lower right: © [Gemini G.E.L.]; stamped lower left verso in gray ink: Gemini G.E.L. / Los Angeles, Calif.

Wikidata ID

Q74068514

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