Saturday Night Special (I Seen it on T.V.)
Artist
Robert Colescott
(American, 1925-2009)
DateMay 1988
MediumAcrylic on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 84 x 72 in. (213.4 x 182.9 cm)
ClassificationsContemporary art
Credit LineGift of the family of Joel B. Cooper, in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper
Object number2002.26.5
Terms
- African-American Artist
- Gun
- Skeletons
- Infidelity
- Brown
- White
- Pink
- Yellow
Collections
On View
Not on viewLabel TextRobert Colescott American, 1925–2009 Saturday Night Special (I Seen it on T.V.), May 1988 Acrylic on canvas In his cartoonish style, Robert Colescott painted two related scenes. In the upper scene, a woman and boy sit on a couch watching a show in which a gunman holds a nearly naked woman at gunpoint. The woman on the sofa is blindfolded and drinking, oblivious to the sex and violence the boy is watching. Both of them, however, are unaware of the violence taking place behind them. A naked woman hiding a gun enters the scene, where she confronts a man with another woman on his lap. The skeletons, both with bullet holes in their skulls, tell us what happens next. The satirical painting offers a pointed commentary about violence and society: what’s playing out in the fantasyland of T.V. might be taking place right behind you. Gift of the family of Joel B. Cooper, in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper 2002.26.5
Unknown
Late Dynasty 5-early Dynasty 6, reigns of Unas or Pepy I, 2375-2287 B.C.E.
ca. 1965
Pair/Pair