Untitled
Sigmar Polke
German, 1941–2010
c. 1964
A painted sheet of synthetic polymer on paper in which Polke flattens two cartoonish figures into bold, schematic shapes to riff on comic imagery and mass-media clichés.
What strikes you first are the bright yellow hair and stark black marks set against a field of diagonal pink lines, the faces reduced to a few sweeping outlines and surprised, almost performative expressions that feel both playful and oddly off-kilter.
Made in the 1960s, this work exemplifies Polke’s move to collapse high and low culture—using cheap industrial paint and comic vocabulary to question authorship, taste, and the authority of fine art and help pave the way for appropriation and conceptual practices.
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on paper
Dimensions
29 x 29 3/8" (73.5 x 74.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Anonymous fractional and promised gift
Accession
252.2000
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
