Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

We the People

Artist Burk Uzzle (American, b. 1938)

CultureAmerican

Date1990

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Frame: 37 1/4 × 31 in. (94.6 × 78.7 cm)
Overall, Image: 23 × 18 in. (58.4 × 45.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of the artist

Object number92.23.1

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a gelatin silver print. "This wall of snapshots is in a window display down on First Avenue, it's outside of a trick store that also has a photo booth in it--an old-fashioned, black-and-white photo booth. These photographs have been added to over the years until, finally, it's quite a remarkable set of photographs. I've had this window filed away in my mind for quite a long time, and this picture started when I decided to try and photograph what hope is." {See entry for "We the People" in A PROGRESS REPORT ON CIVILIZATION, BURK UZZLE (Norfolk, Va: The Chrysler Museum, 1992), n.p.)}

Label TextBurk Uzzle American (b. 1938) We the People, 1990 Gelatin-silver print Gift of the artist 92.23.1 Self-taught artist Burk Uzzle began his career in photography at the Raleigh News and Observer and in 1962 worked as a contract photographer for Life magazine. He joined Magnum Photos in 1967 and was president from 1969 to 1970. His 1984 book, All American, was a humorous, straightforward look at America. Uzzle’s photographic collage work employs multiple exposures made in the camera to express more complex issues than can be revealed in a straight documentary image. Uzzle’s image loosely evokes Barak Obama’s 2008 campaign poster, designed by artist Shepard Fairey, in which a portrait of the first African-American president was depicted above the word hope. Exhibition History"A Progress Report on Civilization: Burk Uzzle," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, July 19 - October 11, 1992. "Remix: A Fresh Look At Our Modern And Contemporary Art Collections," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, November 2, 2011 - March 17, 2012.Published ReferencesA PROGRESS REPORT ON CIVILIZATION: BURK UZZLE (Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum, 1992), n.p.