See-Saw, Class Systems

James RosenquistWW-1968-135769

1968·Color lithograph on off-white wove paper·61.1 × 87.8 cm (24 1/16 × 34 5/8 in.)

This lithograph was created on the cusp of the radical social changes taking place in the United States during the late 1960s. The composition is dominated by the face of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley at the center. A word puzzle constructed from variations of the words upper, middle, and lower is printed on either side of the portrait as a reference to class systems. The scowling portrait of Daley and the image’s wordplay suggest the catalysts for this work—riots sparked by protests during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, as well as race relations and the war on poverty in general.

Catalogue

Year: 1968
Medium: Color lithograph on off-white wove paper
Dimensions: 61.1 × 87.8 cm (24 1/16 × 34 5/8 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: James Rosenquist

Artist

James Rosenquist

Painting

James Albert Rosenquist was an American artist and one of the proponents of the pop art movement. Drawing from his background working in sign painting, Rosenquist's pieces often explored the role of advertising and consumer culture in art and society, utilizing techniques he learned making commercial art to depict popular cultural icons and mundane everyday objects. While his works have often been compared to those from other key figures of the pop art movement, such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, Rosenquist's pieces were unique in the way that they often employed elements of surrealism using fragments of advertisements and cultural imagery to emphasize the overwhelming nature of ads. He was a 2001 inductee into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.

Grand Forks, ND, USA

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