Object #44 - Pen Holder and 4 objects

Howard Edwin Hack

A painted multiple by San Francisco artist Howard Hack using poster board, wood and paint. Though "editioned", each piece in the edition is hand painted, and the sizes and number of elements for each work vary, making each piece unique. This was originally sold through the Art Exchange in Berkeley, California.

The "Pen Holder" is composed of five elements. First, the "holder", a kind of vase formed by two 9 x 10" plywood triangles, each with the pyramid eye of the American dollar bill painted on sheets of paper attached on the outer surfaces. A 2-1/4" thick block of wood, cut to form an inverted "V" shape, is sandwiched between the pieces, creating the "pen holder". This element is titled, signed, editioned "14/15", dated "Aug. 1988" and with a copyright symbol on the bottom. Into this vase-like element the other elements are held like a bouquet, each plywood shape attached to a long shaft ending in a triangle. These are cut to fit in the "V"-shaped cup of the holder. The elements are: The "Ruler", measuring 20-1/4 by 1-1/2", numbered both 2/30 and 14/50; "Glass Disk #25", a disk with a decorative work attached to the front--in this case, a Chinese phoenix; "Symbol of Infinity I", the sideways "8" of the infinity symbol painted in black and green; and "Flash", a comic-style blast shape painted in yellow and red. Each element is dated, titled, copyrighted, and anotated "Oct. 1988 San Francisco" on the verso.

Symbology was a large part of Hack's work in the later half of his career. He did both a "Glass Disk" and an "Icon: Coaster Infinity" series, two symbols that appear in this piece.