Gábor Altorjay | Object for Short Circuit

Gábor Altorjay 

Object for Short Circuit 

Remscheid, Germany: Vice-Versand, 1969

boxed: 10.3 x 10.3 x 10.3 cm.

Unlimited edition

German publisher Wolfgang Feelisch’s Vice-Versand was founded in 1966, intended to operate as a mail-order catalogue for contemporary art. Typically small in size and with low production costs, the works were presented as open editions and generally priced at DM 8, or approximately US $2. Vice-Versand published works by Joseph Beuys, George Brecht, Robert Filliou, Dieter Roth, Daniel Spoerri, Günther Uecker, Ben Vautier and others. 

Gábor Altorjay’s Object for Short Circuit (or Kurzschlussobjekt) was a simple male electrical outlet attached to a small plastic cube (yellow, red, or blue) which would short circuit and possibly blow a fuse when plugged into an electrical grid. 

Jock Reynolds' Fluxus kit from the same year, Potentially Dangerous Electrical Household Appliance, was a very similar work, involving a short extension cord with two male ends. 

Below is a schematic for the work, and a similar piece by the artist, called Short Circuit Purse.