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Minnie

Bright exaggerated painting of aging showgirl with feathered hairpiece and garish makeup.
© 1974 Ed Paschke

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  • Bright exaggerated painting of aging showgirl with feathered hairpiece and garish makeup.

Date:

1974

Artist:

Ed Paschke
American, 1939-2004

About this artwork

Ed Paschke is celebrated as one of the leading figures of the Chicago Imagist Movement, a group of late-1960s artists whose expressive style of figurative painting was rooted in outsider art, popular culture, and Surrealism. Drawing inspiration from New York–based Pop Art, Paschke often culled his subjects from newspapers, tabloid magazines, and television, producing work that taps into the movement’s kitsch aesthetic. Although his paintings depict representational imagery, they play heavily upon expressionist distortion, particularly in his use of psychedelic, inharmonious colors. Paschke’s love of urban subcultures and his interest in the underbelly of American society translated into a penchant for sensational subject matter. In his early works, Paschke painted circus freaks and other marginal figures, in marked contrast to, for example, Andy Warhol’s overriding concern with mainstream celebrity. Minnie, which depicts a now-anonymous individual silhouetted against a background of emanating light, is typical of his artistic production from this period. With her theatrical costume, elaborate hairdo, and bizarre makeup, this larger-than-life figure becomes a grotesque. By painting a flamboyant, overtly sexualized underworld character in a peculiar mixture of electric hues, Paschke added heat to Pop Art’s cool aesthetic.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Ed Paschke

Title

Minnie

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.

1974

Medium

Oil on linen

Dimensions

128 × 96.5 cm (50 3/8 × 38 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the Robert A. Lewis Fund in memory of William and Polly Levey

Reference Number

1982.397

Copyright

© 1974 Ed Paschke

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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