A white rectangular box divided into multiple squares and a raised panel in the center.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The box is divided into forty square each containing a potato into which electrodes are inserted. In the raised center panel is a meter to register power output from the potatoes. The panel also has a sheet of printed text in two columns headed Analogy 1, column 1 reads: 1. Papa: (quechua name) Primitive name for potato, still in use in Spain and all Spanish America. Tuber: edible plant. By extension, any species of food; Pap. Regional Spanish words: papa de apio, pap de caña, papa real, name cimarron papa del aire (Central America), papa Espinosa (Chile), papa lisa uluco (Bolivia). 2. Daily function; Basic Food 3. Extension of daily function: Source of electric energy (0.7 volt per unit). Column 2 reads: 1. Conscience: Knowledge, notion. Derives from Latin “conscientia”, inner feeling through which man acquires an appreciation for his actions. Our conscience is our judge. Morality – Integrity. In a figurative sense, freedom of conscience. Right recognized by any government to each citizen to think as he pleases in the realm of religion. 2. Daily form of conscience: Individual conscience. 3. Extension of daily conscience: Source of conscience of energy. Victor Grippo, 1971

Gallery Text

By the time he made Analogia I, Victor Grippo had emerged as one of Latin America’s most influential conceptual artists, employing everyday materials and encouraging the viewer to carefully study — and occasionally touch — his sculptures. This work embodies concerns that were central to the artist: forty potatoes are carefully placed like specimens in a gridded container, and all are connected to electrodes that emit charges registered by the meter at the center. At once humorous and melancholy, the work reflects Grippo’s interest in alchemy as well as his lifelong concern with energy — its potential and measurement. The lowly potato, indigenous to Latin America, here serves as a source of nutritional or electrical energy, and symbolizes the people whose collective power is controlled by the authoritarian state.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2010.3
People
Victor Grippo, Argentinian (Junin, Buenos Aires 1936 - 2002 Buenos Aires)
Title
Analogia I
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
1970-1971
Culture
Argentinian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/336163

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1100, Modern and Contemporary Art, The Sixties Experiment/Multiple Strategies
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
electric circuits, electric meter and switch, potatoes, ink, paper, paint and wood
Dimensions
47 x 156.2 x 10.3 cm (18 1/2 x 61 1/2 x 4 1/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: On verso in black ink: GRIPPO ANALOGY ' "I" 1971-71

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Alexander and Bonin, New York, New York], sold; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2010.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Richard Norton Memorial Fund and gift of Leslie Cheek, Jr.
Copyright
© The Estate of Victor Grippo
Accession Year
2010
Object Number
2010.3
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Guy Brett, Material and Consciousness: Grippo's Vision (2006), pp. 1-13

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: European and American Art Since 1900, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/03/2011 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 1100 60’s Experiment, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 04/07/2025; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu