Telephones

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Telephones

Artist Christian Marclay (American, born 1955)

Date1995

DimensionsRunning time 7:30 minutes

MediumDVD

ClassificationTime-Based Media

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, by exchange

Object number

2005.44

Not on View

Label TextRunning time: 7 minutes 30 seconds Exhibiting an undeniable affection for the art of the cinema, Telephones—made in the days before the ubiquitous use of mobile phones—features snippets of scenes from Hollywood films from the 1930s to the early 1990s, all revolving around Alexander Graham Bell’s great invention. A common theme in visual artist and musician Christian Marclay’s work is the ineffectual use of communication. With this remarkably seamless integration of moments from films disparate in subject, tone, and time period, he highlights the unconscious and unquestioned social patterns of our interactions with each other over the phone.