Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Daniel Buren, Olivier Mosset, Michel Parmentier, Niele Toroni BMPT. It dates from 1967 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
The faces look like mugshots, but they’re actually just simple portraits, no emotion, no setting, just the faces themselves.
This poster shows four identical headshots of men with short hair, arranged in two rows of two. Each face is printed in a flat, blue-gray tone against a plain white background. The names Buren Parmentier and Mosset Toroni are printed boldly beneath them.
The poster was made for an event called Manifestation 3 in Paris in 1967. The faces look like mugshots, but they’re actually just simple portraits, no emotion, no setting, just the faces themselves.
Want to know more? Check out lithography to see how this was printed.
Overview
Created in 1967, this offset lithograph is a collaborative work by the French artist group BMPT, Daniel Buren, Olivier Mosset, Michel Parmentier, and Niele Toroni. Produced for the exhibition Manifestation 3 in Paris, it functions as a promotional poster. The composition features four identical male portraits arranged in a grid, each rendered in a uniform blue-gray hue on a white ground, with the artists' names printed below in bold type.
Subject & Meaning
The four portraits are anonymous, stripped of individual expression or context, resembling bureaucratic photographs more than personal likenesses. By repeating the same image and omitting distinguishing features, the work challenges traditional notions of artistic identity and authorship. The grouping and labeling of names beneath the faces underscore collective action over individual genius, reflecting the group’s critique of the art world’s cult of personality.
Technique & Style
The print employs offset lithography, a commercial printing method that allows for sharp, flat tones and mass reproduction. The use of a single color, blue-gray, on a white background eliminates tonal variation, reinforcing the impersonal aesthetic. The rigid grid layout and uniform typography reflect a deliberate rejection of expressive brushwork, aligning with the group’s interest in systems, repetition, and industrial production over traditional craft.
History & Provenance
The work was produced as a poster for Manifestation 3, a 1967 exhibition in Paris organized by BMPT to challenge institutional norms in contemporary art. It was not intended as a limited edition artwork but as a functional, widely distributed object. The Museum of Modern Art acquired it as part of its broader collection of conceptual and postwar prints, recognizing its role in redefining the boundaries of artistic production and dissemination.
Context
Emerging in the mid-1960s, BMPT rejected the romanticism of Abstract Expressionism and the commodification of art. Their work aligned with conceptual and minimalist tendencies, emphasizing ideas over aesthetics. This poster reflects their engagement with institutional critique and the use of mass media to subvert traditional exhibition formats, positioning art as a public, reproducible act rather than a unique object.
Legacy
The poster exemplifies BMPT’s early efforts to dissolve the boundary between art and its dissemination. Its impersonal style and mechanical reproduction influenced later conceptual artists who questioned authorship and institutional authority. Though originally ephemeral, its preservation in major collections signals its significance in the shift toward dematerialized and system-based art practices in the late 20th century.
Artist & collection
Artist
Daniel Buren, Olivier Mosset, Michel Parmentier, Niele Toroni BMPT
BMPT, Daniel Buren, Olivier Mosset, Michel Parmentier, Niele Toroni was a ) (french) (swiss) (french) (swiss artist.
