Untitled (Be), from the Untitled Portfolio

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Be), from the Untitled Portfolio, 1985, photo-offset lithograph and screenprint on paper, sheet: 20 ¹⁄₂ x 20 ¹⁄₂ in. (52.0 x 52.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1986.50D

Artwork Details

Title: Untitled (Be), from the Untitled Portfolio
Artist: Barbara Kruger
Publisher: Peter Blum Edition
Date: 1985
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sheet: 20 ¹⁄₂ x 20 ¹⁄₂ in. (52.0 x 52.0 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Mediums Description: photo-offset lithograph and screenprint on paper
Classifications: Graphic Arts
Print
Subjects: Allegory — civic — rebellion
Figure female — fragment — arm
Recreation — church — prayer
Object — letter
Object Number: 1986.50D
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.50D

Artwork Description

Barbara Kruger is known for pairing incisive text with found photographs, usually taken from old advertisements or magazine illustrations. In this piece, she recasts an English proverb-- "Children should be seen and not heard"--as a "we" statement of refusal and protest. The force of each word is underscored by an image of an expressive hand gesture.

Who do you think is the "we" in this statement?