caption death_date death_place training nationality name field birth_date image article_title birth_name
'' . wax , metal , leather , and paint ; warrior in the hirshhorn museum and sculpture garden 's leg '' , -lrb- 1966-1967 -rrb- 10 august 1988 usa art , cooper union school of the arts students league of new york , pratt institute american paul thek painting , sculpture , installation art 02 november 1933 file : thek - warrior 's leg.jpg paul thek
 paul thek
paul thek

paul thek -lrb- november 2 , 1933 - august 10 , 1988 -rrb- was an american painter and , later , sculptor and installation artist .
born in brooklyn , he studied locally , at the art students league and pratt institute .
in 1951 he entered cooper union .
although thek began as a painter , he became known later in life for his sculptures and installations .
notable works include `` technological reliquaries '' -lrb- 1964 -- 67 -rrb- , a series of wax sculptures of human body parts , and `` the tomb '' , a bright pink pyramid installation or `` environment '' , which was badly damaged in 1981 but is documented in edwin klein 's black and white photographs .
today his work may be seen in numerous collections , including that of the hirshhorn museum and sculpture garden in washington , d.c. and the whitney museum of american art in new york .
thek , who was bisexual , died of aids related illness in new york city in 1988 , aged 54 .
