Paul McCarthy's Lowlife Slowlife

Paul McCarthy's Lowlife Slowlife Tidebox Tidebook - catalog and replica Tide detergent box
Adoption Amount: $400
Category: Preserve for the Future
Location: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library

Paul McCarthy's lowlife slowlife : tidebox tidebook

By Paul McCarthy. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, ©2010.

This catalog was published in conjunction with the two-part exhibition “Paul McCarthy's Low Life Slow Life,” curated by the artist, which took place at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts on the San Francisco campus of California College of the Arts from 2008-2009. Packaged as a recreation of a vintage Tide detergent box circa 1973, this publication was designed by McCarthy to serve as an extension of the show and as an artwork in itself. The 640-page tome documents the exhibition, offering a unique survey of McCarthy’s career through an archive of ephemera and artwork by other artists and writers that has influenced McCarthy’s own practice. Paul McCarthy is an American contemporary artist whose work includes performance, installation, film, and "painting as action," with a critical analysis of mass-media and consumer-driven American society.  

Condition and Treatment: 

This is an exhibition catalog housed in a recreation of a vintage Tide laundry detergent box. The box is torn on the left edge and there is a clear sticker affixed to the back of the box. Conservators will repair the tear to the box and create a protective custom enclosure to house this fragile item.

Discover more about this book in our Catalog.