About Artwork

Tony Tasset’s Cup Face (2014) recalls his previous work, Cup, from 1990, in which he tore a spiraling-section from a Styrofoam cup and cast it in bronze. This work proceeds from a similar premise of taking the idle activity of playing with an everyday object—in this case, one that is often encountered in a business meeting, seminar, or other situation characterized by boredom or distraction—and memorializing and elevating it as a serious artistic expression. Tasset’s humorous gesture strikes a nerve based on its immediate familiarity (who among us hasn’t at some point covertly scribbled in a notepad margin or re-fashioned a cup or gum wrapper as a result of “institutional ennui”), while simultaneously underscoring the importance of play, both in the flow of everyday life and as a key part of the artistic process.

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