Line of Infinite Length (Linea di lunghezza infinita)

Seriality and infinitude are the linchpins of Piero Manzoni’s practice, as exemplified in his Lines (Linee), a series begun in 1959. Works from this group consist of industrial rolls of paper on which Manzoni inscribed a continuous line of ink with the aid of a printing roller. In 1960, the artist embarked on a related series, Lines of Infinite Length. These lines, whose ostensible length defies the imagination, are housed rather comically in vessels whose size and modesty stand in pointed contrast to their contents. The Lines of Infinite Length measure neither time nor distance; instead, they represent interminable duration and unlimited extension. Unresolved and continuous, a Line, Manzoni once wrote, "does not measure metres . . . but is zero, not zero as the end, but as the beginning of an infinite series."