Untitled (Williams Klasse, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany, 2011)
Christopher Williams
American, born 1956
2011
An offset lithograph poster in which Christopher Williams sets the phrase “The Production Line of Happiness” in heavy, geometric type and adds tiny proofing numbers to make the mechanics of graphic production visible.
You first notice the dense black words clustered in the top-right of a wide, empty white field, then the small numbered annotations sprinkled over the letters that turn a clean commercial slogan into a diagram of production.
The work exemplifies Williams’s project of exposing the industrial and institutional systems behind images—linking photographic and graphic production to broader questions about how cultural goods and meanings are manufactured.
Medium
Offset lithograph
Dimensions
sheet: 23 3/8 x 16 9/16" (59.4 x 42 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the artist
Accession
855.2013.19
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
