Untitled (Altar No. 4)

Art

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Entry/Object ID

2021.15

Description

A triptych of graphite on paper and wood with a wooden frame that opens and closes

Artwork Details

Medium

Graphite on paper, Oak, Walnut inlay, Gold leaf

Context

In his minimal, abstract drawings and sculptures, Nate Young examines semiotics, the study of how people assign meaning to signs and symbols. Young’s exploration moves seamlessly from art theory to religion within the same work. This work, which was included in DPAM’s 2017 exhibition Four Saints in Three Acts, is a triptych that opens and closes, referencing both religious art and minimalist sculpture. The artist frequently returns to materials related to his father’s work as a preacher (wood) and to Swiss linguist and semiotician Ferdinand de Saussure’s process of using diagrams to understand a sign’s two parts: form and concept. In Untitled (Altar No. 4), Young made two graphite drawings with circles, which attempt to diagram his father’s sermons with Saussure’s illustrations. The drawings are set within a hand-made frame of dark oak, like the wood used for church pews, a material Young has sourced regularly for his works. Arrows pointing up and down, carved between the drawings, evoke numerous open-ended meanings suggested by this common diagrammatic form. Gold leaf accents are similarly evocative, both as a subtle allusion to gilded church architecture and altarpieces and as a symbol of opulence. In recent years, Young has used many of these same themes and materials, applying them more directly to the historical narratives of his family.

Acquisition

Accession

2021.15

Source or Donor

Scott J. Hunter, Gary Metzner, Scott Johnson

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Credit Line

Courtesy of the artist

Made/Created

Artist

Young, Nate

Date made

2015

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Triptychs, Wood

Dimensions

Height

9 in

Width

24 in

Depth

3-1/4 in

Exhibition

Life Cycles

Interpretative Labels

Label

Nate Young (b. 1981) Untitled (Altar No. 4), 2015 Graphite on paper in artist-made oak frame Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of Gary Metzner and Scott Hunter, 2021.15 Untitled (Altar No. 4) is presented as a triptych that opens and closes, referencing both religious art and minimalist sculpture. Artist Nate Young frequently returns to materials related to his father’s work as a preacher (wood) and to Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure’s process of using diagrams to understand how a sign has two parts: a form and a concept. Here, the artist made two graphite drawings with circles, which diagram his father’s sermons with Saussure’s illustrations. The drawings are set within a frame made of a dark oak, like the wood used for church pews. Arrows pointing up and down carved between the drawings evoke numerous open-ended meanings suggested by this common diagrammatic form. Nate Young (n. 1981) Sin título (Altar núm. 4), 2015 Grafito sobre papel en marco de roble hecho por el artista Colección del Museo de Arte DePaul, donado por Gary Metzner y Scott Hunter, 2021.15 Sin título (Altar núm. 4) se presenta como un tríptico que abre y cierra, en referencia tanto al arte sacro como a la escultura minimalista. El artista Nate Young suele regresar a los materiales relacionados con el trabajo de su padre como predicador (madera) y del proceso del lingüista suizo Ferdinand de Saussure de usar diagramas para entender cómo un signo tiene dos partes: una forma y un concepto. Aquí, el artista hizo dos dibujos de grafito con círculos que forman un diagrama de los sermones de su padre con las ilustraciones de Saussure. Los dibujos se colocan dentro de un marco hecho de madera oscura de roble, como la madera que se utiliza en los bancos de las iglesias. Las flechas que señalan hacia arriba y hacia abajo, talladas entre los dibujos, evocan numerosos significados abiertos que esta forma diagramática común sugiere.