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Home>Exhibitions>Past>2017>In the Library: Companion Pieces

# In the Library: Companion Pieces

April 24 – August 25, 2017East Building, Study Center Library

John Cage with David Tudor present a performance of *Variations IV* at the Feigen/Palmer Gallery, 1963, invitation, National Gallery of Art Library, Vertical Files

**This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.**

 Contemporary art movements such as conceptual art, performance art, and minimalism emphasized ideas, experience, and process over the tangible artwork; thus, related printed documents often provided the only evidence of a work’s existence. From the Library’s vertical files, this selection of documents accompanied such ephemeral works and, among other functions, accessorized a performance piece, such as John Cage’s*Variations IV*; invited participation in the art-making process itself, such as Allan Kaprow’s happenings posters; and provided schema for the execution of a work, such as Dan Graham’s*Performance*.

The installation is curated by Anne H. Simmons, reference librarian for vertical files and microforms, department of library reader services, National Gallery of Art.

**Organization:** Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

**Brochure:**In the Library Companion Pieces Documenting Concepts, Events, Environments by Anne H. Simmons. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2017.

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