Dexter Sinister

A Primer of Visual Literacy
2008

Not on view

Date
2008

Classification
Installations

Medium
Photolithograph (a); laser print (b) Photolithograph and laser print

Dimensions
See components

Accession number
P.2011.93.4a-c

Edition
Up to 20

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Promised gift of Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner

Rights and reproductions
© artist or artist’s estate

API
artworks/47322

Part of a series:
W.A.S.T.E. Proof Portfolio
7 works

A black and white photograph capturing two individuals standing in the middle of a city street, arms outstretched towards each other, creating a mirrored pose. The street is lined with parked cars and buildings, and there's a stop sign and one-way sign visible on the right. The scene is devoid of traffic, giving a sense of stillness to the urban environment.
A minimalist graphic artwork featuring three different sized plus signs composed of small dots, arranged vertically on a white background. The largest plus sign is on the left, a medium one in the center, and the smallest on the right.
A photograph of a page with scattered French text, creating a visual poetry layout. The text is unevenly distributed across the page with varying spacing and alignment, and the phrase "UNE CONSTELLATION" is prominently centered. The page appears aged with slightly curled edges, and there's a credit line at the bottom stating "Courtesy of Seth Price."
This image is a scanned document containing text from an interview and a contract. The interview discusses topics such as the relationship between the artist and the public, the role of the artist in society, and the impact of recording technology on musical performance. The contract outlines an agreement between Dexter Sinister and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis regarding an art project, detailing the terms of cooperation, funding, and the nature of the project. The document is formatted with a title at the top and two columns of text below, resembling a printed page from a book or magazine.
A poster featuring a recursive visual of the book cover for "Naive Set Theory" by Paul R. Halmos, with the title "Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics" at the top and the publisher's information "Springer-Verlag New York · Heidelberg · Berlin" at the bottom.
A scanned image of a typewritten letter on letterhead titled "Whitney" with the date "Dublin, 7 January 2008" at the top. The letter discusses the concept of slowing down the distribution of information in the context of the 2008 Whitney Biennial exhibition and reflects on the nature of media and communication. The letter is signed at the bottom, and the signature appears to be handwritten. Below the signature is the name and address of an organization in New York, along with a telephone number and email address. There are handwritten quotes at the bottom of the letter and in the margin.
Illustration depicting a conceptual contrast between 'The observed' and 'The Observer.' The top half, labeled 'The observed,' shows a series of concentric circles expanding outward from a central point, with an arrow pointing leftward labeled 'Time,' and a trio of mushrooms. The bottom half, labeled 'The Observer,' includes a variety of scientific and mathematical symbols such as a DNA double helix, a Mobius strip with the equation '2 x 2 x 2... = 2N,' a bee, a frog, a pair of bicycles, and a key, along with the phrase 'Recognosce notum, ignotum inspice.' The entire image is captioned 'Fig. 1. The Observed and the Observer.'


On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

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