Untitled

Untitled

Philip Corner

1964

graphite

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This sketch shows a rough plan for a performance called *Cannot Chew Performance*. On the left, there’s a simple arrow labeled “mouth to ear” with the word *BITE* beneath it, marked to happen “slowly gradually.” To the right, there are rows of dots—some spread out, some clustered—with the note “patterns of rate-of-change of chew speed.” A box labeled *CHEW* sits above the dots, and at the bottom, a line says “T (show first) (then add).” The dots and arrows suggest an experiment with timing and movement, turning chewing into a kind of visual score. The messy handwriting and quick lines make it feel like a quick idea, not a polished drawing. If you’re curious about how artists turn simple actions into performances, look up Philip Corner.

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