Reserve of Dead Swiss
Artist
Christian Boltanski
(French, 1944 - 2021)
CultureFrench
Date1990
MediumMixed media installation
DimensionsOverall: 116 x 37 x 13 1/2 in. (294.6 x 94 x 34.3 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, partial gift of Helen Gifford, Suzanne and Jack Jacobson, Lee and Bernard Jaffe, Lance A. Lavenstein, Dr. and Mrs. Robert M. Rubin, Gerald Sprayregen and the Art Purchase Fund
Object number96.30
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 223
Label TextChristian Boltanski French, b. 1944 Reserve of Dead Swiss, 1990 Mixed media installation Christian Boltanski’s haunting installations speak to human presence and absence. This work acts as a memento mori, or remembrance of death, that grapples with the trauma of the Holocaust. The biscuit tins refer to the traditional practice of using the containers to store family documents, while their shape resembles coffins or columbaria—structures used for storing the cremated remains of the deceased. The fabric heaped on top of the tins suggests piles of clothing left by the departed, and the desk lamp evokes several possible meanings—from a memorial candle to an interrogation lamp. The photographs on each tin came from obituaries in a Swiss newspaper. Museum purchase and partial gift of Helen Gifford, Suzanne and Jack Jacobson, Lee and Bernard Jaffe, Lance A. Lavenstein, Dr. and Mrs. Robert M. Rubin, Gerald Sprayregen, and the Art Purchase Fund 96.30 Exhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects 1989-1996", October 26, 1996 - February 16, 1997 "Highlights from the Collection," March 15 - June 1, 1997 "From Remembrance to Renewal: Artistic Representations from the Holocaust to the Triumphant Founding of the State of Israel," Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach, VA, April 19 to June 14, 1998. "Silver Images: The Photography Collection at 25," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., November 5, 2003 - August 2004. "The World of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008 "Remix: A Fresh Look At Our Modern And Contemporary Art Collections," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, November 2, 2011 - March 17, 2012. "The Nexus," Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA, January 25 - April 28, 2013.Published ReferencesLynn Gumpert, CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI (Paris: Flammarion, 1994), ill. 135. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 120, fig. 147. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
