Object number1985.19.25

(Untitled)

Portfolio/Seriesfrom the series Inflammatory Essays

Date1979-1982

Artist Jenny Holzer (American, 1950-)

CultureAmerican

MediumCommercial offset lithograph in black ink on thin, wove pink 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: 85.19.25

ProvenancePurchased from Rhona Hoffman Gallery

Vassar Exhibitions

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 a pink background reads: A CRUEL BUT ANCIENT LAW / DEMANDS AND EYE FOR AN EYE. / MURDER MUST BE ANSWERED BY / EXECUTION. ONLY GOD HAS THE / RIGHT TO TAKE A LIFE AND WHEN / SOMEONE BREAKS THIS LAW HE / WILL BE PUNISHED. JUSTICE / MUST COME SWIFTLY. IT DOESN'T / HELP ANYONE TO STALL. THE / VICTIM'S FAMILY CRIES OUT FOR / SATISFACTION, THE COMMUNITY / BEGS FOR PROTECTION AND THE / DEPARTED CRAVES VENGEANCE / SO HE CAN REST. THE KILLER / KNEW IN ADVANCE THERE WAS / NO EXCUSE FOR HIS ACT, TRULY / HE HAS TAKEN HIS OWN LIFE . / HE, NOT SOCIETY, IS / RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS FATE. HE / ALONE STANDS GUILTY AND DAMNED.

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