Allan McCollum: Works since 1969

Early works, regional projects and acclaimed series from Allan McCollum, whose work often blurs boundaries between unique artifacts and mass production

Since the late 1960s, the American artist Allan McCollum (born 1944) has created works that examine the art object’s relationship to uniqueness, context and value, as well as to the museum that collects, values and preserves it. Allan McCollum: Works since 1969, which accompanies a major survey of the artist's work, brings together new scholarship, documentary material and in-depth information on McCollum’s decades-long career, adding to the broader historical and theoretical interpretation of the artist’s important practice.

McCollum’s celebrated works can be interpreted in infinite ways and have significant impact on the understanding of the role of art and material culture in society. Throughout his career the artist has explored various economies and contexts that structure collections and presentations of objects. Interested in how material artifacts become charged with meaning, McCollum understands these objects as vehicles of self-assurance and self-representation within communities.

This book traces the artist’s career through numerous illustrations, supplementary material and texts, focusing on three key components—early work, “regional projects” and the artist’s most iconic series.