MORRIS, ROBERT, 1931–, American Artist

1931–, American artist, b. Kansas City, Mo. He settled in New York City in 1960 and was allied in his early work with the simple, impersonal forms of minimalism, e.g., an untitled 1965 work consisting of four blocks of gray fiberglass. He also often used mirrored surfaces in his sculpture. Implicit in his work is the idea that art can be made of anything. Morris's style and media have changed many times during his career. He has used nonrigid materials such as felt and even steam—precluding reproducible forms and emphasizing the process of art—and was also involved in conceptual art and land art. He is known for his enormous multipart sculptures of the 1980s, which include a wide variety of materials, notably casts of body parts and skeletons. Morris has also experimented in performance art, incorporating dance, theater, and the plastic arts, and often attempting complex combinations. He is a rigorous theorist of art and an influential teacher.

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