Talent

1986-87

American, born 1957

These portraits of young artists living in New York in the 1980s were meant to critique art's growing business culture. Robbins intended to show the double-edged sword of turning artists into entertainers and celebrities while denying more complex content. The artist asked a commercial studio photographer to do the portraits. Like the "head shots" of the talent business, the lighting and poses give the images a unified and commercial appearance.

Photographs

10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.32 cm) each

overall 40 x 72 in.

Purchased in honor of Peter Nesbett with funds from Randi and Michael Hopkins, the Contemporary Arts Council, and the Modern Art Acquisition Fund

98.31

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, American Gothic, Aug. 27, 1998 - Jan. 24, 1999.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pop Departures. Oct. 9, 2014 - Jan. 11, 2015. Text by Catharina Manchanda, et al. No cat. no., p. 102, not reproduced.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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