Protest
Bogdan Kazimierz Skupinski, American (born Poland), born 1942
1967
Etching on paper
47/75
Plate: 19 9/16 × 12 9/16 in. (49.7 × 31.9 cm)
Sheet: 30 1/16 × 22 5/16 in. (76.3 × 56.6 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Susan E. Hardy, Nancy R. Wilsker, Sarah A. Stahl, and John S. Stahl in memory of their parents Barbara J. and David G. Stahl, Class of 1947
2014.73.57
Publisher
Pratt Institute, Graphic Center, New York
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed, lower right, in graphite: Bogdan Skupinski; inscribed, lower left, in graphite: "PROTEST" ETCHING 47/75
Course History
HUM 1, Dialogues with the Classics, Paul Carranza, Caroline Dever, Andrea Tarnowski, Timothy Pulju, Fall 2015
Exhibition History
Recent Acquisition: The Stahl Collection of European and American Art, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 1-December 7, 2015.
This print depicts several vignettes: a smashed military vehicle holds one figure while another lies before it on the ground; a man carries a partially clothed woman; and in the foreground three masked soldiers confront one figure with his hands up and another with a head wound. The middle soldier raises up his boot in a violent gesture. The print, created in 1967, references the Vietnam War, but the details are not precisely rendered. For example, the soldier in the left foreground wears a gas mask, but one that appears from an earlier era—World War I, or perhaps World War II—rather than from Vietnam. The helmets and masks of the soldiers in the foreground, along with the print’s title, Protest, also suggest violence against anti-Vietnam protestors in the United States, as well as that of the battlefield. Skupinski’s gestural style allows for multiple references and interpretations, emphasizing the turmoil and horror of conflict. Skupinski’s intentions are expressly anti-war. He writes “If I did not believe that art would be a vehicle to effect change or only a palliative against today’s civilization, then I would cease to be interested in it.“
Provenance
Collected by Barbara Jaffe Stahl (1930-2004) and David Gerald Stahl (1926-2013), Manchester, New Hampshire; bequeathed to their children Susan E. Hardy, Nancy R. Wilsker, Sarah A. Stahl and John S. Stahl, 2013; given to present collection, 2014.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu