Anarchy in Construction

Artist Thomas Bayrle (German, born 1937)

Date1975

MediumLithograph

DimensionsImage Size: 29 1/4 × 22 3/4 in. (74.3 × 57.8 cm) Frame Size: 36 × 29 1/4 in. (91.4 × 74.3 cm)

ClassificationsPrint

Object numberUAC449

DescriptionThomas Bayrle is considered a pioneer of German Pop art, known for making 'super forms' or densely repeated images that warp and break grid to reveal a larger motif, through a variety of media such as collage, printmaking and sculpture.

Anarchy in Construction comes from a large body of work that speaks on repetition, systems of control and the archetypes of dominance, as a commentary on the world around him. Created in 1975, this print is emblematic of his bending of commercial art techniques towards a visionary practice, just as the age of information and technological growth was about to begin. In this piece one sees a feminine figure with hair tied neatly back into a bun looking over to the her left. The woman, who is actually Bayrle's mother, wears a collared shirt, with another layer neatly atop. This image emerges from a tightly rendered grid of light blue window panes; the linear structure of the background contorts to skin the curvelinear figure composed of the very same windows, each ajar to wavering degrees. The portrait feels cool, cold, and removed.

Text by Emily Lane Borden