Enantiomorphic Chambers (Die Enantiomorphen Kammern), 1964/65/1999
Bemalter Stahl, Spiegel
Courtesy Estate of Robert Smithson / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008/ VAGA, New York
This minimalist work is concerned with perception and its reference to the self and the other. Two identical frameworks are mounted on the wall at eye level, and two reciprocal mirrors are fitted to them at a vertical angle to the wall.
Various interrelations are possible: one sees two empty mirrors, one sees oneself between two mirrors, one looks either to the right or the left, one stands right in front of the arrangement or between the mirrors with one’s back to the wall. However, the narcissistic desire for completion is never fulfilled. The current view and an imagined future view always interact. Ultimately, one cannot escape the impression that one is being watched by two rather widely-spaced eyes.
Robert Smithson (1938-1973) lived in New York.
