After Dogberry
Artist
Chamberlain, John
(American, 1927 - 2011)
Date1993
OriginUnited States of America
MediumSerigraph; relief print with collage
Dimensions82 1/2 × 29 1/2 in. (209.6 × 74.9 cm)
ClassificationsPrint
Credit LineCarolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III Art Purchase Fund
Object number2020.18
Label TextJohn Chamberlain
(American, 1927-2011)
After Dogberry
Serigraph; relief print with collage, 1993
Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III Art Purchase Fund, 2020.18
Chamberlain is best known for sculptures constructed from a variety of found materials including salvaged industrial fragments, such as mangled automotive parts. Considering himself a collagist and recycler, he uses the same visual strategies of visual "fit" in his works on paper as in his large three-dimensional works.
The title invokes a character from William Shakespeare's comedy "Much Ado About Nothing." In the play, the character Dogberry is the night constable and chief of police of the city of Messina, a self-satisfied and self-important person known for so-called malapropisms. The term describes the use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a non-sensical expression. Consequently, such an expression is sometimes also referred to as a "dogberryism" or "dogberry." Chamberlain uses this linguistic "mis-fit" as a metaphor to emphasize his underlying concern with visual "fit" of collaged elements.
This is the edition's first PP - Printer's Proof (same as AP - Artist's Proof) that was executed by master printer William Weege for Pace Gallery in New York in 1993.
Status
On view
