Lee / Open the Pig by Lee

1979

Henry Chalfant

Associated Names
Henry Chalfant

Artist, American, born 1940

This photograph shows a subway car covered in graffiti art. Two sections of the subway car are heavily decorated with vibrant graffiti. The top part features an animated, cartoon-like depiction of an orange airplane or vehicle with exaggerated shapes and facial features, accompanied by the text "I love my mommy" and "The spirit still lives." There are also stylized letters and abstract forms in various colors like teal, red, and orange. The bottom part showcases large, bold letters in yellow and blue spanning the length of the car, with similar cartoon and abstract artwork. To the left, there's a depiction of a character in a blue outfit holding an oval shape, and on the right, another character in orange attire with a paint roller. The graffiti includes details like tags, doodles, and thoughtful messages.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    5 chromogenic prints

  • Credit Line

    Corcoran Collection (Gift of Samuel A. and Sandra Esses)

  • Dimensions

    image/sheet (top): 7 × 36 cm (2 3/4 × 14 3/16 in.)
    image/sheet (bottom): 7.62 × 37.47 cm (3 × 14 3/4 in.)
    mount: 32.39 × 52.71 cm (12 3/4 × 20 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.19.4905


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Samuel A. and Sandra Esses, East Hampton, NY; gift to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2003; acquired by NGA, 2015.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2006

  • redefined: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, July 15, 2006 – January 2, 2007

Inscriptions

signed by artist on mount, lower right below bottom image in graphite: Henry Chalfant '79; on verso of mount, top left in blue ink circled: 26; top left: Lee / OpeN the Pig (by Lee); center in graphite, crossed out in blue ink: 14; repeated center right in graphite: 14; by Corcoran Gallery of Art, bottom right: 2003.17.17

Wikidata ID

Q64155038

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