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Mama

Joseph Nechvatal

Artwork Details

Mama
1984
Joseph Nechvatal
graphite and orange tint on paper
11 1/16 x 14 in. (28 x 35.5 cm)
The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States, a joint initiative of the Trustees of the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection and the Nation Gallery of Art, with generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute for Museum and Library Services
2008/2.247

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Description

Joseph Nechvatal
United States, born 1951
Mama
1984
Graphite and orange tint on paper
2008/2.247

Subject Matter:

Though the dense tattoo-like pattern that overwhelms the field is abstract, one can discern some recognizable imagery through the random hatch marks, such as the female nude at center. One reviewer described the effect as expressive of “a back-of-the-mind fear we all can identify with sometimes.” (Kimberly Fine, “Joseph Nechvatal and the Lower East Side,” East Village Eye, 15 Oct 1983)

Physical Description:

Dense line drawing on orange-tinted paper.

Usage Rights:

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