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Cross Purposes
Jess (American, 1923–2004)
1974
Medium/Technique
Framed collage
Dimensions
72.4 x 61 cm (28 1/2 x 24 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by Mr. and Mrs. Graham Gund, and Barbara Fish Lee and Thomas H. Lee and the support of Mr. and Mrs. Federico Quadrani
Accession Number1994.23
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas
ClassificationsCollages
Jess began making art after a brief career as a scientist. Disillusioned by the direction of science and the threat of nuclear devastation, he chose art "as an antidote to the scientific method." Originally inspired by Dada and Surrealist collages, in this work the artist mixed pieces from two old jigsaw puzzles that he discovered were cut from the same pattern. One is a biblical illustration, the other a landscape; one image reads vertically, the other requires the viewer to look sideways. As the title suggests, the artist's desire to counter rationalism and modern alienation with spiritualism and mysticism are revealed in this work.
ProvenanceThe artist; with Odyssia Gallery, New York; to MFA, Boston, 1994
CopyrightJESS