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The virtues and vices of history, from the series History Lessons
1998
13 x 24 x 4 in. (33.02 x 60.96 x 10.16 cm)
Maria Porges (Oakland, California, 1954 - ) Primary
Breaking Ground: Gifts from Katie and Drew Gibson (2013)
Maria Porges works in a variety of media—cast wax, glass, antique furniture, salvaged materials, gold leaf, metal, and most recently, cotton and wool. She is known for her cast wax bottles inscribed with text that she places on shelves. Meant to function as little wunderkammer or “cabinets of wonder,” her delicate assemblages riff on old-fashioned museum display strategies. As both a storyteller and collector, Porges arranges her sculptures into narrative tableaus that make reference to time, history, memory, and language.
Porges explained: "I have come to see the bottles themselves as stand-ins for the body, but also, like books, as mysterious containers. Clearly, when I place them on shelves like this, they are like libraries, a reading reinforced by—well—the reading I require from viewers. In this piece, I suggest that the curious, Christian idea of forgiving and forgetting—almost impossible, in my experience—might serve us better if we remembered, instead. Forgive, but recall the events and their consequences. That way, maybe mistakes won’t be repeated."
Art Learning Lab, May 27, 2022 - June 4, 2023, New Wing, Koret Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Breaking Ground: Gifts from Katie and Drew Gibson, July 18, 2013 - October 20, 2013, New Wing, Second Floor, North Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
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by Artist (27)
The virtues and vices of history, from the series History Lessons
Mixed Media (3D)
199813 x 24 x 4 in. (33.02 x 60.96 x 10.16 cm)
Maria Porges (Oakland, California, 1954 - ) Primary
Object Type: Mixed Media (3D)
Medium and Support: Wax and applied metal leaf on wood shelf
Credit Line: Gift of Katie and Drew Gibson
Accession Number: 2012.08.32
SJMA Label Text
Breaking Ground: Gifts from Katie and Drew Gibson (2013)
Maria Porges works in a variety of media—cast wax, glass, antique furniture, salvaged materials, gold leaf, metal, and most recently, cotton and wool. She is known for her cast wax bottles inscribed with text that she places on shelves. Meant to function as little wunderkammer or “cabinets of wonder,” her delicate assemblages riff on old-fashioned museum display strategies. As both a storyteller and collector, Porges arranges her sculptures into narrative tableaus that make reference to time, history, memory, and language.
Porges explained: "I have come to see the bottles themselves as stand-ins for the body, but also, like books, as mysterious containers. Clearly, when I place them on shelves like this, they are like libraries, a reading reinforced by—well—the reading I require from viewers. In this piece, I suggest that the curious, Christian idea of forgiving and forgetting—almost impossible, in my experience—might serve us better if we remembered, instead. Forgive, but recall the events and their consequences. That way, maybe mistakes won’t be repeated."
Exhibition
Art Learning Lab, May 27, 2022 - June 4, 2023, New Wing, Koret Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Breaking Ground: Gifts from Katie and Drew Gibson, July 18, 2013 - October 20, 2013, New Wing, Second Floor, North Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
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Dimensions
- Sculpture Dimensions: 13 x 24 x 4 in. (33.02 x 60.96 x 10.16 cm)
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