Image May Contain: Words
Brian Block
Published by I&A
100 pages
2019
11”x8.5” (28 x 21.5cm). Perfect Binding Matte.
Offset Printed. B&W. Edition of 125.
ISBN: 9780359451845
This volume is an interpretive artwork in the form of a book. It contains photos of the wall labels of the 2017 Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art, compiled in random order. The work began as the Theater Artist Robert Wilson often said: ‘to make work is to ask: what is it?’ I began photographing museum wall texts in 2012 when I was continually puzzled by their increasing length and claims.
The title is partly cribbed from Facebook where it can mean the phrase "Image may contain" can mean two things: it is either an accessibility feature powered by artificial intelligence (AI), or it is a content warning for sensitive or graphic material.
The labels are from my photographic archive of labels, now consisting of many thousands of images.
This recontextualization of the labels into a book apart from their artworks aims to support various readings regarding image information and language information.
This was the first of two compendiums of photographs of wall labels of past Whitney Biennials.
Published by the artist in 2019. Brooklyn, NY.