Mel Bochner Money, 2018 explores the meaning of the word the titular word through repetition, relation, and visual transformation. In a rectangular composition, various synonyms and frames are arranged in a dozen horizontal bands of variegated colors. The text is fully integrated into the composition and some of his some of the words are hyphenated which allows the words to fill the expanse of the image entirely.  In rounded capital letters Bochner lists each word in a tangentially: “MONEY, MOO | LA, FELT, DIN- | ERO, SCRATCH, | SKINS, SHEK- | ELS, CHEDDAR, | CHINK, LOOT, | BOODLE, GRA- | VY, SMALL PO- | TATOES, BIG | BUCKS, FILTHY | LUCRE, ROOT | OF ALL EVIL.” The vocabulary is breeming with jive and humor, and when recited, sounds poetic. The use of bright coloration adds another layer of expression, engaging the viewer through their visual senses. In the succession, each word is more and more distant from the source’s connotation as Mel Bochner gradually shifts to a colloquial language of euphemism and slang. Mel Bochner Money, 2018 features a saturated and prismatic palette; each of the twelve lines is a unique strip of hand-dyed and hand-made paper, with every word defined in thick oil paint in an array of pigments.

Created in 2018, this monoprint in oil paint with collage, engraving and embossment on hand-dyed Twinrocker handmade paper is hand-signed by Mel Bochner. Mel Bochner Money, 2018 is a unique and original work.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

1. Bochner, Mel. Monoprints: Mel Bochner: Words, Words, Words…New York: Two Palms, 2012. General information on Mel Bochner’s unique monoprints is discussed on pages 63-65. A similar unique monoprint in different colors is listed and illustrated as plate no. 14.

2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Mel Bochner Money, 2018 is presented in a complementary moulding.