This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Mel Bochner, a post-Minimalist artist, best known for installations and paintings that probe the abstract concept of measurement, was born in Pittsburgh. After graduating from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, in 1962, he travelled to San Francisco, before settling in New York City in 1964. While in New York City he joined Sol Lewitt, Eva Hesse, and Robert Smithson to bring the art world to a post-Minimalist sensibility through both works of art and writings.
In the late 1960s, Bochner, like other Conceptual artists, turned away from self-expression, choosing instead to explore organized systems of thought, such as language and mathematics, through artistic practices that used minimal aesthetics. Bochner had presented drawings in galleries that followed specific systems based on circular forms, on the compass, and on the measurements of the exhibition space. He has also used sculptural pieces to explore basic properties of measurement, weight, and gravity.
Bochner's photographs treat a variety of subjects, investigating a range of artistic phenomena such as perspective, color, scale, and language. For Bochner, photography was well suited to exploring the abstract ideas and systems behind artistic practice, which interested him more than focusing on the representation of objects. A number of pieces record Bochner's experimentation working outside standard photographic formats, including several multi-panel and large-format works that the artist cut and manipulated. When installed several inches from a wall, these works produce an effect that blurs the distinction between two-dimensional media and sculpture.
Credits:
Matthew Baigell, "Dictionary of American Art"
Richardson, B. "Mel Bochner: Number and Shape," exhibit. cat., Baltimore Mus., 1976.
www.cmoa.org
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