Untitled (Be), from the Untitled Portfolio

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Be), from the Untitled Portfolio, 1985, photo-offset lithograph and screenprint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1986.50D
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
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
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?

Works by this artist (3 items)

John Wesley Jarvis, Mr. Nichol, 1809, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1942.2.1
Mr. Nichol
Artist
Date1809
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
John Wesley Jarvis, William McIntyre, early 19th century, watercolor, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer, 1999.27.22
William McIntyre
Artist
Dateearly 19th century
watercolor, pen and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view
John Wesley Jarvis, Commodore Isaac Chauncey, ca. 1814, oil on panel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer, 1999.27.23
Commodore Isaac Chauncey
Artist
Dateca. 1814
oil on panel
Not on view

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Joseph Hardin, Untitled (figure at Table, View of Legs), ca. 1978, colored pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.111
Untitled (figure at Table, View of Legs)
Artist
Dateca. 1978
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William Zorach, (Untitled--Child's Head), 1925, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the collection of the Zorach children, 1976.145.8
(Untitled – Child’s Head)
Artist
Date1925
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Classic Series
Artist
Date1970
pencil on paper
Not on view
Image Not Available
Study for the Pushover
Artist
Date1981
pencil on paper
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