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photo by: Margo Geist
Seventy-three in a Moment
photo by: Margo Geist
photo by: Margo Geist

Seventy-three in a Moment

Artist (American, born 1962)
Date1996
Medium26,645 handcut, photocopied paper butterflies, stained with tea and coffee; gum arabic; masonite
Dimensions120 x 2 1/2 in. (120 in., 6.4 cm)
ClassificationsAssemblage
Credit LineGift of William Siegal, 2012
Object number2012.19
DescriptionA 10-foot diameter circle with concentric circles comprised of layers of 26, 645 interwoven tea- and coffee-stained paper butterflies.
Text Entries

On 2/3/2014, during the de-installation of the artwork, one cluster of butterflies and 5 portions of some of the butterflies became detached. The 5 small pieces were from along the outer edges of the work and the cluster was made up of newly created butterflies for the 2013 conservation (location of cluster is unknown).

On 2/5/14, when the object was being secured into its custom housing crate, 6 additional partial sections of some of the butterflies detached. These portions were from along the outer edges of the work.

Both sets of detached butterflies were bagged and are now housed in the Bits and Bobs box (a box including loose bits, extra parts and removed parcels), which is in Collections Storage (S001, C001, S00).


73 in a Moment consists of 26,645 photocopies of butterflies, Xeroxed from David Carter’s 1992 field guide Butterflies and Moths, from the Eyewitness Handbook series. Tasha Ostrander used about 20 different butterflies from that book. The number 73 referred to what was the average American life span at the time the artist made the piece. 26,645 is the number of days in 73 years. This work is, in essence, a meditation on life and death, with the artist asking the question, If you knew how long you had to live, how would you live your days? The use of the butterflies is a metaphor for the brevity of life (butterflies have a short life span) and the idea of metamorphosis. Ostrander did all of the work herself, 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, for one year. The labor-intensiveness of the project was an important aspect of creating the meaning of the work. The work takes the form of a mandala, thus contributing to its significance as a meditative work or spiritual endeavor. To have the 26,645 butterflies seen in one glance is to demonstrate the intensity of a lifetime in a single moment.

As mentioned in the treatment proposal written by Crista Pack (Conservation Intern) in January, 2013, a bag of loose butterflies and clusters of butterflies that had become detached from the artwork at an unknown point in the past accompanied the piece when it was delivered to the Conservation Lab. In the bag were 8 clusters of butterflies and 13 individual paper butterfly pieces.

Also, as notated in the treatment report written by Crista Pack in July of 2013, some of the detached butterflies that were in the bag, were reattached to the artwork if there locations were known during conservation treatment. 2 of the 13 loose individual butterflies were not re-adhered to the work during conservation treatment and were given to MOA after completion of the restoration project.

An additional 8 clusters of butterflies were removed from the artwork during the 2013 conservation because they were placed the wrong way on the artwork when they were applied during the previous restoration campaign or at an unknown later date. These clusters were given to MOA after completion of treatment.

Both the 2 individual butterfly pieces and the 8 clusters of butterflies are together in a plastic baggie and are now housed in the Bits and Bobs box (a box including loose bits, extra parts and removed parcels), which is in Collections Storage (S001, C001, S00).



During the 2013 conservation treatment of the artwork, new butterflies were created by the artist to fill and compensate for losses of originals. Not all of the butterflies made in 2013 were adhered to the artwork during treatment. The extras were given to MOA after conservation was completed. These extra butterflies have 2013 written on the verso to distinguish them from the originals and are now housed in the Bits and Bobs box (a box including loose bits, extra parts and removed parcels), which is in Collections Storage (S001, C001, S00).


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