Shroud
Datec. 1984
Artist
Robert Jones
(American sculptor, 1951–1989)
MediumFiberglass
Dimensions61 × 35 × 25 in. (154.9 × 88.9 × 63.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Leonard Perlson, 2015
Object number2015-74
On View
Not on viewClassificationsSCULPTURE
Label TextRobert Jones installed shrouds throughout Pier 34—one of several abandoned docks on New York's Hudson River used by artists such as David Wojnarowicz during the 1970s and 1980s—during the summer and fall of 1983. Like other New York-based artists utilizing vacant spaces for installation art and graffiti, Jones created a studio space within the pier—which he named the Anchovie Lounge—before the dock was razed in early 1984. In May 1984, a group of 15 figures were placed on the steel awning outside the Leonard Perlson Gallery in the Meatpacking District as part of Jones' solo exhibition. Created with Fiberglass cloth and dyed resins, the shrouds' somber appearance evokes mourner figures from medieval tombs.