Prison Window
Robert Gober. Prison Window. 1992. Plywood, forged iron, plaster, latex paint, and electric light bulbs, Opening 24 x 24" (61 x 61 cm). Gift of the Dannheisser Foundation. © 2013 Robert Gober
Robert Gober. Prison Window. 1992. Plywood, forged iron, plaster, latex paint, and electric light bulbs, Opening 24 x 24" (61 x 61 cm). Gift of the Dannheisser Foundation. © 2013 Robert Gober
High on the wall and decidedly out of reach, a barred window reveals an illusory glimpse of radiant blue sky. Gober transforms the gallery into a prison cell, taunting viewers with the semblance of a landscape beyond and provoking a desire to escape. At once familiar and uncanny, Gober's work is based on memory: "Most of my sculptures have been memories remade, recombined, and filtered through my current experiences." This sculptural installation also alludes to the Renaissance conception of a painting as a window, once the premise of representational picture-making.