Image

Etching of people walking through a seemingly endless corridor, created by repetitive doorways and shadows. A hunched figure dominates the frame while the silhouette of another figure at left watches.

Michael Mazur

The Corridor

Description

Maker

Michael Mazur (American, 1935 -2009
b. in New York), designer

Title

The Corridor
from the portfolio "Images From A Locked Ward"

Year

1965

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

lithograph

Supports

Dimensions

Sheet: 50.8 x 65.4 cm (20 x 25 3/4 inches)

Identification

Edition

40/75

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Jim Dine

Object Number

80.266.2

Type

Exhibition History

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.

Related Publications

Related Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 17: Variance

This issue complements the RISD Museum exhibition Variance: Making, Unmaking, and Remaking Disability, on view through October 9, 2022.

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This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Michael Mazur (American, 1935 -2009
b. in New York), designer
Impressions Graphic Workshop, Inc., publisher
The Corridor; from the portfolio "Images From A Locked Ward", 1965
Lithograph on paper
Sheet: 50.8 x 65.4 cm (20 x 25 3/4 inches)
Gift of Jim Dine 80.266.2

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