Robert Morris – Box with the Sound of Its Own Making, 1961

A nine-inch walnut cube containing a three-hour tape recording of the construction of the box itself. This clever one liner beautifully encompasses the misconception of creation and the artist as genius. It very clearly lays out the actual process that has gone into a work. And the work is just a box. But with it being just a box the sound becomes more impressive and meaningful as a viewer seeks to find the ‘art’ within the piece. But it is simple and mundane. However the way this one liner is delivered is at the top of its game (for 1961).

 

 

While cherished notions of art focus on the hand of a single artist, here Morris challenges the need for a recognisable creator while also poking fun at the myth of the artist as genius. Through sound and a simple form, he rejects any illusion of romance in the process of making art and presents the viewer with a record of the entire three-and-a-half-hour process from start to finish.

–Michael Darling, Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art, 2007