Object photographed by Scott Wolff. Scanned from a transparency. Image color corrected by Pat…

Down for the Count

Artist Martin Wong (American, 1946-1999)

CultureAmerican

Date1985

MediumAcrylic on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 83 x 107 in. (210.8 x 271.8 cm)

InscribedOn the back of the painting, the artist painted a brick wall, seen under a "tag" (graffeti art). ; On the bottom edge of the canvas: LAUREN 242-2236

Credit LineGift of the family of Joel B. Cooper, in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper

Object number2002.26.18

Collections

Modern and Contemporary

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 227

DescriptionThis is an acrylic with gloss on canvas painting. The painting depicts a boxing match set against the backdrop of chain link fences and tenements in the Lower East Side of New York. In the foreground, a victorious gloved Nuyorican (a Puerto-Rican born New Yorker) boxer raises his arms in a "V", while an unconscious opponent is lifted slightly from the ground to be carried off by two New York fire fighters. A young child hugs the victor and stares directly at the viewer.

Label TextMartin Wong American, 1946–1999 Down for the Count, 1985 Acrylic on canvas The everyday becomes extraordinary in Martin Wong’s Down for the Count. Borrowing heavily from Renaissance depictions of the death of Christ, the work posits tragedy and defeat against the victor’s raw, masculine strength. The heroic boxer appears to be fighting for much more than a simple match. Wong based his theatrical urban scenes on Manhattan’s Lower East Side—then an impoverished, mostly black and Hispanic neighborhood with a thriving artistic community. Gift of the family of Joel B. Cooper, in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper 2002.26.18 ProvenanceSemaphore Gallery, New York, 1985; Joel B. Cooper, Norfolk, Va., 1985-2002; Gift in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper from the family of Joel B. Cooper to Chrysler Museum of Art, 2002. Exhibition History"Martin Wong," Semaphore Gallery, New York, N.Y., October 5 - November 3, 1985. "Sweet Oblivion: Landscape of Martin Wong," Illinois State University Galleries, Normal, Ill., January 13 - February 22, 1998; New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, N.Y., May 28 - September 13, 1998. "The Bold 1980s: A Collector's Vision," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 19 - October, 2003. "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. "Remix: A Fresh Look At Our Modern And Contemporary Art Collections," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, November 2, 2011 - March 17, 2012. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021.Published ReferencesBarry Blinderman, _Sweet Oblivion: The Urban Landscape of Martin Wong_, exh. cat., Illinois State University Galleries, Normal, Ill., 1998, 49. Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 254-255, no. 156. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 83, fig. 98. Krist Gruijthuijsen, ed., _Martin Wong: Malicious Mischief_, exh. cat., K.W. Institute for Contemporary Art in association with Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther and Franz König, Köln, 210-211.