Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz created their iconic installation “The Art Show” between 1963 and 1977. Consisting of nineteen life-size plaster-cast figures, “The Art Show” is evocative of a gallery opening or museum vernissage. The mannequins are molded and dressed like friends of the Kienholzs and personalities from the art scene of the 1970s, while their faces are replaced with air conditioning vents and fans. In each iteration, visitors were encouraged to interact with the environment activating sound contents from the sculptures. On the walls were an array of mixed-media collages and paintings created by a fictional artist named “Christian Carry”.
The present catalog was published in conjunction with “The Art Show” at Berliner Künstlerprogramm in 1977. Later the same year, the exhibition traveled to the Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou and the Musée National d'Art Moderne.
