But it is also very much a self-contained object whose irregular geometry, knobby surface and imposing yet buoyant mass demand attention by themselves.

The terminal is a perfectly self-contained object - anything subtracted or added necessarily "spoils" this perfection.

The function of the frames is definitely not to create the impression of finished, self-contained objects.

It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic object.

Bell's sculptures have the effect of reading as self-contained objects while simultaneously drawing in their surroundings and proactively changing their environment.

"Ornamental Architecture Reborn: A New Terra Cotta Vocabulary" is a consciousness-raiser for those whose views of craft have been centered on self-contained objects.

The artist's refusal to approach his figures as fully self-contained sculptural objects can make them appear obvious and unfinished.

Presenting photographs as digressive fragments or self-contained objects rather than as parts of a larger cohesive series is a strategy gaining in popularity among younger practitioners.

Dealers and museums see video art as a self-contained object, like a painting or sculpture: nonreproducible.

It stands apart from the city, however, far more a self-contained, abstract object than a building designed to function as part of the community of buildings in a downtown.