La Historia de Arias
La Historia de Arias

Artist name

Fernando Arias

Artist year born

1963

Artwork make date

1998

Artwork title translation

The Story of Arias
The History of Arias

Artwork material

book
metal

Artwork dimensions

height: 45cm
width: 18cm
depth: 25cm

Artwork type (categories)

Sculpture/assemblage

Accession method

Donated by Fernando Arias 1999

Accession number

17-1999

Label text

La Historia de Arias is an ironic subversion of one of the most famous modern art history books: Ernst Gombrich's The Story of Art, first published in 1950 and still a cornerstone of the Phaidon publishing house. A recent edition is presented bolted shut: a symbolic gesture that challenges its significance and utility. The book is supported by metal poles and on top of it rests La Historia de Arias. The latter is a smaller publication; imitating an appendix to Gombrich's book, it replicates the cover of the original but inside it reproduces Arias' own work. The transformation of Gombrich's book from bible of art history into a plinth upon which Arias' own book is supported constitutes a caustic critique of Gombrich's Eurocentric and linear documentation of the history of art.
Yuli Karatsiki

Last updated date

2008