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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Artists Band Together bandana
Barbara Kruger (American, born in 1945)
2020
Medium/Technique
Cotton plain weave, printed
Dimensions
21 inches
Credit Line
Gift of Damon Beale
Accession Number2021.325
ClassificationsCostumes
Produced at a time of great importance - the COVID-19 global pandemic and contentious presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden - this bandana designed by Barbara Kruger, are both a comment on and reflection of the times during which they were made. This bandana was created by an artist in conjunction with a political organization, acting as both a fundraiser and means to raise awareness of an issue important to the artist.
Designed by Barbara Kruger, this bandana was created to benefit Artists Band Together and recalls an American flag. White text includes the phrases, "Look for the moment when pride becomes contempt" in a blue ground at the upper left, and white lines of text reading "Who is free to choose? Who is beyond the law? Who is healed? Who is housed? Who is silenced? Who salutes the longest? Who prays loudest? Who dies first? Who laughs last? are printed over a red ground, evoking the stars and stripes. As is typical of Kruger's work, these phrases challenge the viewer to consider their place and participating in society.
With the advent of the global COVID-19 pandemic in the winter of 2020, cloth face coverings, including masks and bandanas, became a standard wardrobe accessory. Facemasks quickly became available in a variety of materials and styles, initially home sewn and then commercially. With the pandemic occurring in an election year, the wearing (or not wearing) of masks became a heated issue in the United States that defined the differences in the approaches of the Democrat and Republicans parties approaches to addressing such significant public health issue. Many artists and activists have chosen to use facemasks and coverings as a vehicle to express their own responses to the political and social climate. TFA has determined that is representation of COVID-19 masks should be narrowly limited to visually engaging examples made or designed by artist for the benefit of a humanitarian or activist cause. This banana is an example of an established artist elevating the format of ubiquitous and utilitarian objects to express important ideas that serve as a reflection of the times in which they were made.
Designed by Barbara Kruger, this bandana was created to benefit Artists Band Together and recalls an American flag. White text includes the phrases, "Look for the moment when pride becomes contempt" in a blue ground at the upper left, and white lines of text reading "Who is free to choose? Who is beyond the law? Who is healed? Who is housed? Who is silenced? Who salutes the longest? Who prays loudest? Who dies first? Who laughs last? are printed over a red ground, evoking the stars and stripes. As is typical of Kruger's work, these phrases challenge the viewer to consider their place and participating in society.
With the advent of the global COVID-19 pandemic in the winter of 2020, cloth face coverings, including masks and bandanas, became a standard wardrobe accessory. Facemasks quickly became available in a variety of materials and styles, initially home sewn and then commercially. With the pandemic occurring in an election year, the wearing (or not wearing) of masks became a heated issue in the United States that defined the differences in the approaches of the Democrat and Republicans parties approaches to addressing such significant public health issue. Many artists and activists have chosen to use facemasks and coverings as a vehicle to express their own responses to the political and social climate. TFA has determined that is representation of COVID-19 masks should be narrowly limited to visually engaging examples made or designed by artist for the benefit of a humanitarian or activist cause. This banana is an example of an established artist elevating the format of ubiquitous and utilitarian objects to express important ideas that serve as a reflection of the times in which they were made.
ProvenanceOctober 23, 2020, sold by Artists Band Together (online dealer) to Damon Beale, Scituate, MA; 2021, gift of Damon Beale to the MFA. (Accession date: April 14, 2021)