Robert Morris (b. 1931, USA – d. 2018)
Box with the Sound of its Own Making, 1961

The MET

Why do I find self-referential objects exciting?
I don’t know. Maybe it’s this illusion of particular completeness and autonomy? Or strengthened emphasis on the object rather than its maker or conditions of its creation (although some might choose to trace the reference in opposite direction and think of all that it took to be made). Or some kind of anchorage to reality? …whatever that is, I keep painting a self-referential painting without a clear reason, too. Maybe I am doing it in order to find out why I am doing it.