Dennis Oppenheim
Upper Cut, 2000-2001

Upper Cut is an edition of 7 unique multimedia sculptures. Dennis Oppenheim drew on 30 years in the contemporary art world to create the concept behind Upper Cut. With his characteristic wit, he transformed years of experience, observation, and overheard secrets and gossip relating to artists, critics, gallery owners and museum directors into "book titles." Serving as teeth in a "mouth," the books tell an insider's story, symbolizing the mouth as voice and the passage of oral traditions and wisdom. The spaces Oppenheim leaves also comment on what’s left unsaid. As the artist puts it, "Upper Cut includes spaces, indicating missing teeth, or more accurately, teeth which were 'knocked out.' This causes one to muse on entire sections of art history 'knocked out' and missing from collections of writings."

Oppenheim goes beyond the problem of identifying a familiar object by turning it into something entirely new, one which expresses a meaning external to the object. The viewer's memory/concept of the original object is substituted by a symbol that no longer needs description, whether objective or subjective, that is, whether it gives facts or impressions, to achieve its desired virtue. This fusion of visual and conceptual vocabularies embody Upper Cut with a kinetic energy that seems to 'chatter' long after one’s departure.

Consistent with Oppenheim's larger works, Upper Cut is an ambitious multiple consisting of several fabrication techniques: laser-cut plywood and steel; wood patterns meticulously hand-sanded and painted; miniature books individually silk-screened in a random color and title selection process, randomly installed within the sculpture's frame.

Upper Cut, 2000-2001

Upper Cut, 2000-2001

16 x 16 x 16" unique, mixed-media sculpture.
Steel, wood, enamel paint and individually titled and hand-silkscreened books. Edition of 7

Upper Cut, 2000-2001

Upper Cut, 2000-2001 (detail)

16 x 16 x 16" unique, mixed-media sculpture.
Steel, wood, enamel paint and individually titled and hand-silkscreened books. Edition of 7

Upper Cut, 2000-2001

Upper Cut, 2000-2001 (sample titles)

16 x 16 x 16" unique, mixed-media sculpture.
Steel, wood, enamel paint and individually titled and hand-silkscreened books. Edition of 7

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