Collection of Rene & Veronica di Rosa Foundation, Napa, CA and
Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA
SELF-PORTRAIT
1997–
Steel, ink on paper
4 in. × 88 in. × 20 ft.
Extended Loan to Ballett Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
UNTITLED (Minuet in MG)
1999–
MG Midget (1974), steel, paper, plastic, concrete
15 in. × 26 in. × 65 ft.
The seven-story tall sculpture, Untitled (Minuet in MG),
contains a 1974 MG Midget sportscar that was donated,
shredded, steamrolled, photographed, bagged, labeled,
numbered, and filed by weight from heaviest to lightest
in milligrams (mgs) — an MG in mgs.
The sculpture now holds the Guinness World Record for the
“tallest file cabinet on earth,” and the DMV registration
for the shredded car filed inside the cabinet officially
indicates possession by its owner.
Collection of Rene & Veronica di Rosa Foundation, Napa, CA
ROW B, PLOT 33
1999–
Dirt, concrete, undeclared object
36 in. × 96 in. × 108 in.
The sculpture, Row B, Plot 33, is composed of 6 tons of dirt removed from a cemetery plot that was purchased in Shasta, California and transported to a gallery in San Francisco, California.
The dirt was tamped into 1 ft. square bricks and assembled on the gallery floor as a literal real estate transaction: the artist bought a plot of land and took it home.
In addition, the cemetery deed, officially registered with Siskiyou County, now indicates the owner of the land—which is also a sculpture.
Private Collection, San Francisco, CA
BIG PICTURE FRAME
1999—
Steel, glass, vinyl, durst lambda
48 in. × 96 in. × 96 in.
The sculpture, Big Picture Frame, contains a full-scale bus shelter advertising an anonymous campaign for self-identity.
Described by one art critic as “waiting for Godot in cyberspace,” the internet domain registration officially links the sculpture to its owner.
Collection of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA
VERN
1999–
Cremated remains on canvas
1 3/4 in. × 21 in. × 47 in.
The painting, Vern, is composed of the cremated remains of an unrecognized painter named Vernon Koski, who aspired to be in a museum during his lifetime and now hangs in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).
Koski’s lifelong dream came true when his wife answered a classified advertisement to “Donate Your Ashes To Art; Let Your Loved One Live On.”
An independent documentary film has been made about the life of Vernon Koski; it helps to expand the painting’s romantic turn-of-events by allowing Koski’s artwork — seen in the film — to reach a wider audience after his death.
In addition, every time the painting travels — even temporarily — an application, permit, and affidavit must be filed with the county to identify its current location. Thus, one additional page is added to Koski’s death certificate each time the painting travels, leaving an official paper trail of current and previous locations of the artwork.
