Q. And babies? A. And babies.

Art Workers' Coalition, Q. And babies? A. And babies., 1970, offset lithograph on paper, overall: 25 × 38 in. (63.5 × 96.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jon Hendricks, 2017.10, © 1970 Irving Petlin, Jon Hendricks, and Frazer Dougherty

Artwork Details

Title: Q. And babies? A. And babies.
Artist: Art Workers' Coalition
Date: 1970
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: overall: 25 × 38 in. (63.5 × 96.5 cm)
Copyright: © 1970 Irving Petlin, Jon Hendricks, and Frazer Dougherty
Credit Line: Gift of Jon Hendricks
Mediums Description: offset lithograph on paper
Classifications: Graphic Arts
Print
Subjects: Figure group — children
Figure group — male and female
Object Number: 2017.10
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2017.10

Artwork Description

The Art Workers' Coalition (AWC) was a group of New York artist-activists. After the exposé of atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers in 1968 in the My Lai Massacre, AWC members Frazer Dougherty, Jon Hendricks, and Irving Petlin designed this poster. Its image was taken at the scene by army photographer Ron Haeberle. The devastating phrase "And babies" came from a news interview with soldier Paul Meadlo, who had participated in the slaughter. Rather than symbolism or metaphor, the artists used journalistic evidence to convey the horrors of the war--horrors the government had kept hidden for more than a year. They printed fifty thousand of the posters, distributed them for free, and displayed them during protests, confronting the public with war's grisly truths.