Jose Dávila
Mexican, born 1974
Topologies of Memory, 2011
Artwork Details
Materials
ten color inkjet prints
Edition:
2/3
Measurements
P2012:4d: 13 11/16 x 16 x 1 1/2 inches (34.77 x 40.64 x 3.81 cm); P2012:4i: 15 11/16 x 11 11/16 x 1 1/2 inches (39.84625 x 29.68625 x 3.81 cm); P2012:4a: 15 11/16 x 12 7/8 x 1 1/2 inches (39.84625 x 32.7025 x 3.81 cm); P2012:4c: 16 7/16 x 14 7/8 x 1 1/2 inches (41.75125 x 37.7825 x 3.81 cm); P2012:4f: 16 13/16 x 22 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches (42.70375 x 56.515 x 3.81 cm); P2012:4j: 18 7/16 x 26 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches (46.83125 x 66.675 x 3.81 cm); P2012:4h: 19 3/16 x 18 x 1 1/2 inches (48.73625 x 45.72 x 3.
Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum
Credit
Bequest of Arthur B. Michael, by exchange, 2012
Accession ID
P2012:4a-j
To create Topologies of Memory, Jose Dávila cut the central images out of ten photographs, evoking an atmosphere of loss and compelling viewers to want to fill in the blanks. Sometimes the background is helpful, but, for the most part, it is the shape of the missing object that provides the most useful clue for solving the mystery. For visitors who are not familiar with the history of twentieth-century art, the shapes might have many possible identities. But the missing images are, in fact, iconic artworks, including Marcel Duchamp’s playful Fountain, created with a urinal; an untitled work by Donald Judd; a disembodied leg by Robert Gober; the earthwork artist Robert Smithson’s Asphalt Rundown; one of Dan Flavin’s fluorescent light pieces; and a taxidermy horse by Maurizio Cattelan.
Label from Looking Out and Looking In: A Selection of Contemporary Photography, January 19–June 9, 2013
