Amendment #8

Mark Bradford, Amendment #8, 2014, mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Lohrfink Foundation and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2015.34, © 2014, Mark Bradford
Mark Bradford, Amendment #8, 2014, mixed media, 48 14 × 60 in. (122.6 × 152.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Lohrfink Foundation and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2015.34, © 2014, Mark Bradford

Artwork Details

Title
Amendment #8
Date
2014
Dimensions
48 14 × 60 in. (122.6 × 152.4 cm)
Copyright
© 2014, Mark Bradford
Credit Line
Gift of the Lohrfink Foundation and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
mixed media
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
2015.34

Artwork Description

What words or phrases can you make out on the surface of this painting? The text comes from the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which forbids the use of "cruel and unusual punishments."

This work is part of a series Mark Bradford made about the Bill of Rights. Inspired by the idea that a piece of paper could embody fundamental human liberties, Bradford used paper as his medium--wetting it, building it up, and scraping it down so that it became a dense cake of multicolored pulp.

The words are buried within the paper's layers. While some are visible, most float in and out of legibility, just as certain people and ideas have come into focus at different times in our history. Reflecting on the Constitution, Bradford marvels that "we will never understand the entire document. . . . Its meaning glimmers."

Works by this artist (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Tehran Conference, ca. 1945, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.647
Tehran Conference
Dateca. 1945
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1935-1938, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.814
Portrait of a Man
Dateca. 1935-1938
oil on burlap
On view
William H. Johnson, For India and China, ca. 1944-1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.662
For India and China
Dateca. 1944-1945
oil on paperboard
On view

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More Artworks from the Collection

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)
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)
Date1925
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Michael Clark, Classic Series, 1970, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Fendrick, 1980.131.3
Classic Series
Date1970
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Study for the Pushover
Date1981
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