Field Coil

June 1971 112 Greene Street/Workshop

Cecile Abish, Field Coil, 1971

Exhibition Description

“Field Coil was specifically made for the lower level space at 112, with its unobstructed linear run and uncluttered cement floor. The work consisted of 104 separate coiled kraft paper units that were placed one next to the other. Each section before being rolled measures 36×46″, the slits were 36″ long, cut at 1″ intervals and parallel to the 46″ length. The 104 separate units lost their intrinsic apartness as the coils were placed one next to the other, leaving only the uppermost part of each unit exposed to form an extended field. The dimensions of the entire work were 7” high x 3′ wide x 49′ long.

“I seem to rememeber that a couple of days after the show was installed, Vito Acconci did a work with roostres. The roosters then shared the space with Field Coil for several days but they were a decent lot and left the work intact.”

Excerpted from Brentano, R., & Savitt, M. (1981). 112 Workshop, 112 Greene Street: History, artists & artworks. New York: New York University Press.

Cecile Abish, Field Coil, 1971