Object number1985.19.12

(Untitled)

Portfolio/Seriesfrom the series Inflammatory Essays

Date1979-1982

Artist Jenny Holzer (American, 1950-)

CultureAmerican

MediumCommercial offset lithograph in black ink on thin, wove off-white paper

EditionUnlimited edition

DimensionsSheet: 17 x 17 in. (43.2 x 43.2 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase

On View

Not on view

Period20th c

Classification(s)

InscribedOn verso, by unidentified hand, lower right corner in pencil: 85.19.12

ProvenancePurchased from Rhona Hoffman Gallery

Vassar Exhibitions

What Now? (Or Not Yet)

Presses, Pop, and Pomade: American Prints Since the Sixties

Exhibition HistoryPresses, Pop, and Pomade: American Prints Since the Sixties, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, January 13 - March 19, 2006
DescriptionBlack italic text against an off-white background reads: FREEDOM IS IT! YOU'RE SO SCARED, / YOU WANT TO LOCK UP EVERYBODY. / ARE THEY MAD DOGS? ARE THEY / OUT TO KILL? MAYBE YES. IS LAW, / IS ORDER THE SOLUTION? DEFINITELY / NO. WHAT CAUSE THIS SITUATION? / LACK OF FREEDOM. WHAT HAPPENS / NOW? LET PEOPLE FULFILL THEIR / NEEDS. IS FREEDOM CONSTRUCTIVE / OR IS IT DESTRUCTIVE? THE / ANSWER IS OBVIOUS. FREE PEOPLE / ARE GOOD, PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE. / IS LIBERATION DANGEROUS? ONLY / WHEN OVERDUE. PEOPLE AREN'T / BORN RABID OR BERSERK. WHEN / YOU PUNISH AND SHAME YOU CAUSE WHAT YOU DREAD. WHAT TO / DO? LET IT EXPLODE. RUN / WITH IT. DON'T CONTROL OR / MANIPULATE. MAKE AMENDS.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu