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Kent State

Richard Hamilton

Artwork Details

Kent State
1970
Richard Hamilton
screenprint on paper
28 11/16 in. x 40 1/16 in. ( 72.8 cm x 101.7 cm )
Gift of Graham and Marianne Smith
1991/2.84

Description

In "Richard Hamilton, Collected Works," the artist notes that the Kent State print is, "the most onerous of all the prints I have made. Without anticipating the problem, I chose to layer many transpaernt colors over each other to build the image from the overlaps and fringes. It was an absurd procedure. The more layers of pigment the longer the drying time - it didn't take long to discover that we were manufacturing fly papers" (94).
"The Kent State student depicted, Dean Kahler, was not killed. He suffered spinal injuries and is paralysed. The text that I orginially wrote for the subject avoids any mention of the horrible circumstances of that day in May" (94).

Usage Rights:

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