By Daniel Fulco, Ph.D., Agnita M. Stine Schreiber Curator

To mark the special exhibition Art, Fashion, Symbol, Statement: Tattooing in America, 1960s to Today (on view through October 13, 2024),we hope that you enjoy this print in our collection. If you visit the museum, this work is on view in the exhibition.

Richard Lindner (American, b. Germany, 1901–78)
Uptown, 1970, from the Fun City portfolio, 1969–71,
published by Shorewood Atelier, Inc., New York, NY
Lithograph on paper
Collection of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
Gift of Dr. Samuel Mandel, A2579,87.0311
 
In Uptown, Richard Lindner blended figural representation with urban forms that connote movement and dynamism in this poster-like composition. Wearing a teal costume reminiscent of superhero garb (suggested by the wing and collar), a woman with long hair and bright red lips stares at us. Her eyes are obscured by a pinkish red hue that mimics the arrow pointing to the left in back of her head. Note that her glasses’ frame is decorated with yellow and black squares, a reference to the color scheme for Checker Taxis once found in American cities. Lindner exaggerated and exposed her breasts, transforming them into bell-like shapes surrounded by curved orange and red forms. The words “Uptown” recall New York City subway signs and further accentuate the energy and motion of city life referenced in this print.  
 
Lindner was a painter, graphic artist, and an arts educator. In 1941, he fled Nazi Germany and settled in New York City, where he became an illustrator for prominent magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.  Lindner’s experiences of New York and its various subcultures influenced his painting and graphic work. Erotic, bold, colorful, and often humorous, Lindner’s imagery is derived from the nightlife of clubs, bars, and bustling streets, and the eccentric people who frequented them. Among his cast of urban characters are streetwalkers, military personnel, mannequins, and circus performers.
 
Prints like this example have influenced the work of tattoo artist Mike Ski, which is on display in the exhibition Art, Fashion, Symbol, Statement: Tattooing in America, 1960s to Today. Responding to bold colors and forms similar to those found in Uptown, Ski created a lively tattoo design (see below) that depicts the head and torso of a woman who wears large sunglasses. He divided the composition in half by using an arm, hand, and cigarette smoke, which are contrasted with a gun and large cat (resembling a panther) on the right. Ski’s nuanced, Neo-Traditional artwork combines tattoo imagery of the past century (often featuring simple motifs) with the vitality and immediacy of graphic art and design from the 1970s and 80s. His use of pithy words and phrases derives from the prints of renowned feminist artist Barbara Kruger (see below).

Mike Ski (American, b. 1974)
Wide Eyed in the Face of Worldwide Panic, 2023
Pen and ink on paper
12 x 15.5 in; 10.625 x 13.75 in
Collection of the artist

Barbara Kruger (American, b. 1945)
Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground), 1989
Photographic silkscreen on vinyl
The Broad Art Foundation and Spürth Magers