Artist

Alfredo Jaar

born Santiago, Chile 1956
Born
Santiago, Chile
Active in
  • New York, New York, United States

Works by this artist (2 items)

Alfredo Jaar, Life Magazine, April 19, 1968, 1995, three chromogenic prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2013.39A-C, © Alfredo Jaar, Courtesy Galerie Lelong, New York
Life Magazine, April 191968
Date1995
three chromogenic prints
Not on view
Untitled, from the portfolio In a Dream
Date1991
laminated transparency and fluorescent light box
Not on view

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      When Chilean-born artist Alfredo Jaar moved to New York in 1982, he was troubled to discover that racial tensions still ran high long after the civil rights movement had passed its zenith. In Life Magazine, April 19, 1968, he manipulated the iconic photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral procession to highlight the disparity between the number of black and white mourners. Jaar's decision to present the work as a triptych, a traditional format for Christian altarpieces, helps identify King as a martyr.

      Exhibitions

      A photograph of a tricycle at a low angle
      A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
      June 27, 2013January 5, 2014
      A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the numerous ways in which photography, from early daguerreotypes to contemporary digital works, has captured the American experience.

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