A Hollow Gesture

Robert Arneson

1980

lithograph on paper

40" x 30"

Arneson is considered the father of the San-Francisco Bay area Funk Art movement of the 1960s and 70s, which featured inside jokes, self-deprecation, and ambiguity. In this triptych of prints, the artist exposes his humanity. Though humorous, the realities of the human body and its functions were quite likely on his mind as, five years earlier, Arneson was diagnosed with cancer. Up Against It, with the artist’s flattened nose and wincing face, can be read as a literal depiction of facing a serious difficulty.

Credit

Anonymous gift