Richard Hamilton, designer

For a week in May 1970, Richard Hamilton watched television and photographed what he saw on screen. Mechanically translating the violence happening at Kent State from his television to a print medium, Hamilton considered the ways information is distilled and transmitted to the public.

On May 4, 1970, when students at Kent State who were peacefully protesting the Vietnam War did not disperse, members of the Ohio National Guard fired 67 rounds of ammunition into the unarmed crowd, killing four. Nine others were injured, including Dean Kahler, depicted here, his fallen body seemingly enveloped in the colors of the flag. Kent State caused a national outcry, and four million students across the U.S. went on strike.