

114
Robert Heinecken
Cliché Vary/Lesbianism
1974
Unique construction of sixteen canvas panels with photographic emulsion and pastel chalk.
Each 9 3/4 x 9 7/8 in. (24.8 x 25.1 cm)
Overall 40 3/8 x 40 5/8 in. (102.6 x 103.2 cm)
Overall 40 3/8 x 40 5/8 in. (102.6 x 103.2 cm)
'The Museum of Modern Art' and 'Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago' labels affixed to the reverse of the frame.
Full-Cataloguing
As a self-described “paraphotographer,” Robert Heinecken created a visual language that transcended the traditional tenets of photography. The current lot was taken ten years after the celebrated photographer established the nation’s first photography department at UCLA. During his tenure as professor and mentor, Heinecken aimed to blur the lines between photography, sculpture, collage and printmaking. In Cliché Vary/Lesbianism, Heinecken presents a four-by-four grid comprised of multiple angles, duplicate details and hand-coloring that collectively disrupt any linear understanding of the final composition. As a hybrid of multiple mediums the work stands at the nexus of postmodernism by constructing an image that challenges our assumptions of inherent truth both in the medium of photography and in our social presentations of sex and gender.