No Prior Art: Illustrations of Invention at the Central Library’s Getty Gallery

No Prior Art: Illustrations of Invention (installation view) (2024). Image courtesy of the artists and Library Foundation of Los Angeles. Photo: Angel Xotlanihua.

The boundless potential of human creativity anchors No Prior Art: Illustrations of Invention at the Los Angeles Central Library’s Getty Gallery. The exhibition builds upon the Library’s role as a center for intellectual property research, presenting ephemera related to various patented inventions, such as nineteenth-century patent models, alongside experimental works by fourteen contemporary artists. These unexpected pairings blur the distinction between artistry and technological innovation, both of which rely on outside-the-box thinking—new ways of seeing the world in pursuit of discovery. 

Consider, for instance, Analia Saban’s collaboration with the multigenerational print studio Mixografia, which, in 1973, developed a proprietary technique to accommodate Rufino Tamayo’s vision for high-relief prints on handmade paper.¹ Saban employs this technique in her 3-dimensional print THANK YOU Plastic Bag (2016), where a plastic bag’s corrugated, richly textured surface is represented in relief, protruding outward. Photographs illustrating the printmaking process, printmaking tools, and copies of Mixografia’s official patent certificates reveal the collaborative effort among scientists and artists and the intricacies of both developing and patenting a process that did not exist prior to Tamayo’s request. 

Nearby, thirty-three paintings from Ben Sakoguchi’s series Great American Inventors (2015; a continuation of his Orange Crate Label series, 1974–present) celebrate American pioneers whose groundbreaking inventions still shape our lives, including Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr, guitarist Les Paul, and chemist Stephanie Kwolek. In Ecstacy Brand (2015),  Lamarr, who is co-credited with inventing the “frequency hopping” system that served as the foundation for modern Bluetooth and WiFi technology, is depicted reclining on a crescent moon.² Sakoguchi’s grid-like display finds a conceptual parallel in the similarly arranged presentation of twenty-eight plant patents showcasing photographs of meticulously staged strawberries, halved apples, and clusters of grapes. Each photo, accompanied by patent numbers and issue dates from 2022 to ’23, represents the voice of an aspiring inventor driven by the same pursuit as those in Sakoguchi’s series. Here, the gap between the presentation of legal documents and portraiture grows narrow.

In a separate room, the Chicago-based collective Temporary Services presents Prisoners’ Inventions (2001–24), a project made in collaboration with an incarcerated artist named Angelo.³ Through ink drawings and written correspondence, Angelo shared detailed descriptions of inventions made by inmates within the California prison system. Recreated models of a pet home made from cardboard boxes, a steam cooker made from Tupperware containers, and a drinking cup crafted from empty potato chip bags sit on a transparent encased pedestal. Their inclusion demonstrates that inventions, much like artworks, begin with the motivation to reimagine one’s surroundings, whether in confinement or collaboration.

No Prior Art: Illustrations of Invention runs from September 14, 2024–May 11, 2025 at the Central Library’s Getty Gallery (630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071).

Nahui Garcia is an art historian and curator currently living in Los Angeles. She is an MA candidate in the Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere Program at USC Roski School of Art and Design. 

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