Surface Dis/Tension
1968
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 182.88 x 177.8 cm (72 x 70 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Richard S. Zeisler and the Collectors Committee
Accession Number
2009.33.1
Art Historical Context
Mel Bochner's *Surface Dis/Tension* (1968) is a striking large-scale gelatin silver print, measuring an impressive 72 x 70 inches, now housed in the National Gallery Art's Department of Photographs. Created during the vibrant late 1960s art scene, this work reflects Bochner's early experiments as a pioneering Conceptual artist, a movement that prioritized ideas over traditional craftsmanship and materiality. The title's clever pun on "dis/tension" evokes themes of strain and surface, inviting viewers to contemplate perception and physical limits through photography. Gelatin silver prints, a c...