YES BUT IS IT TORTURE? by William T. Wiley
YES BUT IS IT TORTURE?
William T. Wiley
Title
YES BUT IS IT TORTURE?
Artist
William T. Wiley
1937 - 2021 (biography)Year
2009
Technique
hand colored etching
Image Size
15 7/8 x 15 13/16" platemark
Signature
pencil, lower right
Edition Size
A.P. (proof outside the published edition of 40)
Annotations
pencil editioned in lower left; annotated: "FOR DIANA FULLER. THANKS DIANA LOVE WILEY 2010"; printer's chop in lower right
Reference
Art Institute of Chicago accession #2014.1161
Paper
heavy, antique-white wove
State
published
Publisher
artist
Inventory ID
20371
Price
$3,000.00
Description
Wiley offers his usual bizarre, yet poignant universal view and comment on the "War on Terror," in the US, the world, and the art world, depicting a prison cell with various torture objects including a "water board" in a bucket of oil and an electric prod. A sign reads: "Enhanced Techniques of Interrogation of a Neo Minimalist Painting US R-Me.." On the left wall is graffiti that reads: "E lemon 8 WAR & Suffering Thru DEATH."
A Neo-Minimalist canvas is hung from a hook, twisted and punctured with nails. A weight is hung at the bottom and blood drips to the floor.
This artist's proof is pencil annotated "For Diana Fuller + Thanks Diana Love Wiley 2010." Diana Fuller was Wiley's dealer in San Francisco.