Untitled
1968
Robert Irwin (American, 1928-2023)
On View

Robert Irwin first experimented with electric light in his series of “disc paintings,” produced between 1966 and 1969. This ushered in the artist’s environmental, experiential practice for which he is best known. Four commercially available light fixtures catch the large discs—one of aluminum and one of transparent acrylic—in their crossbeams, casting four interlocking shadows on the wall. Irwin used industrial and automotive fabrication methods to achieve the discs’ precise forms, allowing for a choreographed play of light and shadow intended to throw traditional boundaries of art into question. Where do these works of art end? The discs’ physical edges? The dissipation of their shadows? The corners of the gallery walls?

Details

  • Artist Name: Robert Irwin (American, 1928-2023)
  • Title: Untitled
  • Date: 1968
  • Medium: Synthetic polymer paint on metal disc and arm
  • Dimensions: 60 in. diameter (152.4 cm); white metal arm: 20 x 8-3/8 in. (50.8 x 21.3 cm)
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene M. Schwartz
  • Accession Number: P.1969.132
  • Copyright: © Robert Irwin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Object Information

Pace Gallery, New York, to;
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene M. Schwartz, gift 1969 to;
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, 1969-1975;
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena.

Permanent and Loan Collection, 1973

  • Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, 1973-01-30 to 1973-12-31

Beyond Brancusi: The Space of Sculpture

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2013-04-26 to 2014-01-06

Pasadena to Santa Barbara: A Selected History of Art in Southern California, 1951-1969

  • Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 2012-02-11 to 2012-05-06

Translucence: Southern California Art from the 1960s & 1970s

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2006-05-12 to 2006-08-28

American Art of the 1960s from the Norton Simon Museum

  • Los Angeles, The Temporary Contemporary, 1990-03-13 to 1990-06-13
  • Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1988-10-04 to 1989-02-05

The Universe: Creation, Constellations and the Cosmos

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2001-02-04 to 2001-06-04
  • Humblet, Claudine, La Nouvelle Abstraction Américaine 1950-1970, 2003, Vol. III p. 1647
  • Clark, Robin, Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface, 2011, Fig. 1.5 p. 24
Listen
Audio Tour
English | Español
Read
Audio Tour Transcript
English | Español

Additional Artwork by Artist

Untitled Robert Irwin 1967-68
Untitled Robert Irwin 1962-63

Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.

Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.

Please allow up to four weeks for your request to be reviewed. Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.

Reproduction Request Form