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Watchtower with Geese (Hochsitz mit Gänsen)

Multi-paneled painting depicting a watchtower, geese, and various beach items.
© 2018 Estate of Sigmar Polke/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

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  • Multi-paneled painting depicting a watchtower, geese, and various beach items.

Date:

1987/88

Artist:

Sigmar Polke
German, 1941–2010

About this artwork

Sigmar Polke was born in Silesia (present-day Poland), which became part of East Germany after World War II. He moved to West Germany in the 1960s, becoming one of a number of German artists who sought to confront the collective trauma that characterized the history of their nation in the 20th century. The watchtower referred to in the title may indicate a type of elevated seat frequently used in the German countryside as a lookout when hunting fowl, a reference underscored by a gaggle of geese in the painting’s right-hand corner. The designs on the black fabric evoke the pleasures of leisure time at a beach and provide an association with another kind of raised chair, that of a lifeguard. But, more ominously, the watchtower is also related to guard towers, prisons, concentration camps, and walled countries.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Sigmar Polke

Title

Watchtower with Geese (Hochsitz mit Gänsen)

Place

Germany (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.

1987–1988

Medium

Resin and acrylic paint on various fabrics

Dimensions

290 × 290 cm (114 1/4 × 114 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by an anonymous donor in memory of Marshall Frankel; Wilson W. Mead Endowment

Reference Number

1990.81

Copyright

© 2018 Estate of Sigmar Polke/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

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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