Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2013.

Munchkins I, II, & III

Artist Idelle Weber (American, 1932 - 2020)

Date1964

MediumAcrylic on linen

Dimensions72 x 214 in. (182.9 x 543.6 cm)

ClassificationsModern art

Credit LineMuseum purchase, in honor of William Hennessey, Director 1997–2014, and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange

Object number2013.9.2

On View

On view

DescriptionMunchkins I, II, & III is a seventeen-foot-long Pop era work. In Munchkins I, II, & III, Weber's edgy technique combined a Pop sensibility with the striking geometric lines of Minimalism and Hard-Edge painting. At the same time, the painting’s intense flatness and lack of perspectival space reflect the techniques of commercial advertising. Her featureless figures echo the impenetrable anonymity of the city, which underwent a population boom in the post-war era. The painting exudes the lack of personal interaction that occurs in the daily “rat race,” as business men in suits and ties ascend and descend the intercrossing escalators in the PanAm (now MetLife) building, completed in 1963. The title specifically references The Wizard of Oz and the underlying political and social metaphors that can be garnered from the film, in which hundreds of munchkins happily toil day-after-day for the authoritative wizard. Signed and dated lower left: "i weber / 1964."
Label TextIdelle Weber American, 1932-2020 Munchkins, I, II, & III, 1964 Acrylic on linen Men in business suits ascend and descend the crisscrossing escalators of the PanAm (now Met Life) Building in Manhattan. Idelle Weber’s ironic title refers to the little characters in The Wizard of Oz—ordinary citizens who are oppressed by a cruel witch. Here, the urban commuters toil under what Weber called the “airlessness and isolation” of corporate life. The artist’s edgy technique draws on the sensibility of Pop and the look of commercial imagery, but exudes a “Mad Men” feel that exposes the dehumanizing effects of everyday life in mid-century America. Museum purchase, in honor of William Hennessey, Director 1997–2014 Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange 2013.9.2