Rough, loose black lines illustrate a semi-nude figure lying on a bed in a small room, feet extended and arms wrapped around their head. Two faces peer in through windows.

Michael Mazur

Figure on a Bed

Maker

Michael Mazur (American, 1935 -2009)

Title

Figure on a Bed
from the portfolio "Images From a Locked Ward"

Year

1962-1965

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

lithograph

Supports

Dimensions

51.1 x 66 cm (20 1/8 x 26 inches) (sheet)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in pencil, LL: "image destroyed, 1st state" ; LR: "Mazur." Chopmark in LR corner, Pisces within a square, mark of George Lockwood (printer).

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Jim Dine

Object Number

80.266.33

Type

Exhibition History

Variance
Making, Unmaking, and Remaking Disability
Feb 01, 2022 – Oct 09, 2022

Label copy

In these haunting lithographs, artist Michael Mazur uses the emotional capacity of gestural mark-making to invoke the plight of institutionalized individuals. Mazur began the series in the early 1960s, when he was volunteering at the state asylum in Cranston, Rhode Island. This institution was established by the Rhode Island legislature in 1869 as the State Asylum for the Insane and Poor.

The series title, Images from a Locked Ward, is telling. Compared to Hogarth’s print, Mazur’s lithograph presents an entirely different emotional take, highlighting the inhumanity of institutionalization. At the same time, by working from memory, Mazur captures emotion without trafficking in the suffering of identifiable individuals.

Image use

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Michael Mazur (American, 1935 -2009)
Figure on a Bed; from the portfolio "Images From a Locked Ward", 1962-1965
Lithograph on paper
51.1 x 66 cm (20 1/8 x 26 inches) (sheet)
Gift of Jim Dine 80.266.33

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