Alighiero Boetti

Arazzo dei mille fiumi piu lunghi del mundo (Tapestry of the thousand longest rivers of the world), 1976-82 

This piece, sometimes referred to as Boetti’s list, contains the names of the 1,000 longest rivers in the world in descending order—the product of 7 years of research. You might find that information today in a Wikipedia entry, but Boetti carefully lists them in this large gray and white woven piece as if to cement their existence into reality and get a tenuous handle on the staggering variety of the world.