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Playboy #38

A work made of chromogenic print.
© Richard Misrach

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  • A work made of chromogenic print.

Date:

1990

Artist:

Richard Misrach
American, born 1949

About this artwork

For over 30 years, Richard Misrach has been producing an epic photographic poem on the American West, divided (in the manner of Dante or Ezra Pound) into sections called cantos. The Desert Cantos examines the places where civilization runs up against nature, with often-disastrous effects on the land. One section focuses on two Playboy magazines Misrach found near the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, propped up against a gutted television and used for shooting practice by locals. Although the women on the covers had been the intended targets, Misrach realized that the bullets had pierced many aspects of contemporary culture: not only centerfold models but also political figures like Oliver North and Gloria Steinem; celebrities such as Madonna, Ray Charles, and Dennis Quaid; advertisements for alcohol, cigarettes, and shampoo; and, as shown here, art-world personalities like Andy Warhol. Such imagery becomes, in Misrach’s enlarged photographs, emblematic of an American culture riddled with violence.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Richard Misrach

Title

Playboy #38

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1990

Medium

Chromogenic print

Dimensions

Image/paper: 126 × 99 cm (49 5/8 × 39 in.); Frame: 129.7 × 104.7 × 4.7 cm (51 1/8 × 41 1/4 × 1 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Boardroom, Inc.

Reference Number

1992.701

Copyright

© Richard Misrach

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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