"All the works in The Presence of Absence require the participation of others to be executed. Several go one step further, obliging the spectator to participate, perceptually and physically, in the creation of the work – in effect, to produce its meaning. These works do not function well as ideas in the way that many examples of conceptual art could; clearly, these works are meant to be executed. But even works in the exhibition that do not engage the viewer in this manner were conceived to be executed and, despite the absence of a material object, have a definite visual component."
Essays by: Nina Felshin
Featured artists: Judith Barry, Daniel Buren, Daniel L. Collins, Dan Graham, Jenny Holzer, Patrick Ireland, Justen Ladda, Sol LeWitt, Lorie Novak, Buky Schwartz, Leni Schwendinger, Lawrence Weiner, Krzysztof Wodiczko
Felshin, Nina, The Presence of Absence. Independent Curators International (ICI), New York, 1988. 72 pages.
