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Image for a dead man
Collage on a canvas with synthetic polymer paint created in 1980 by Ray Beattie. Created as part of a series of three paintings. Beattie served in the 2nd battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment in the Vietnam war. This piece reflects the absence that is felt upon someone’s death from a war not of their choosing. It holds a profound sense of loss and grief. -
Vault (The Yellow Peril)
Located in Melbourne, Australia created by Ron Robertson-Swann in 1980. An abstract minimalist sculpture created out of thick flat polygonal sheets of steel. The sculpture was created after Robertson-Swann won an art competition in 1978 drawing criticism as being too modern for the location. Name options included The Thing, steelworkers calling it Steelhenge and newspapers dubbing it The Yellow Peril which has stuck. In September of 1980, Roberson-Swann officially named it Vault. -
Thorncrown Chapel
Completed in 1980 while located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas by E. Fay Jones. The chapel rises from fieldstone floors and is almost entirely constructed from wood and glass. Standing 24 feet by 60 feet by 48 feet high, the construction houses over 435 windows and 6,000 square feet of glass. While housing some gothic constructs, the chapel has been said to complete the woodland forest area in which is resides while not hindering the viewers appreciation of nature upon entering. -
Big Orange
Located in South Australia in 1980. Standing around 15 meters high and 12 meters around. Envisioned by Bronte Coombe, Vern Chubb and David Marshall. Initial investments to create this piece were $145,000 from the three visionaries and designed by John Twopenny. The Big Orange has not held strong financial soundness and has changed hands multiple times with being home to a café and learning center. -
Irony of the Negro
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s use of acrylic, crayon, and canvas in 1981 is a poignant criticism of members in his own race. The showing of a policeman, he is attempting to show how African Americans are used by the white majority in America. His believe was that any African American that becomes a policeman is attempting to enforce rules that were intended to enslave themselves which in his opinion, is ironic. -
White Squad I
Leon Golub created in 1982 in response to events of the Salvadoran death squads. An enormous painting that spans 10 feet high and over 15 feet wide. Due to the events publicized in the media, Golub depicted “barbaric realism” from a conglomeration of photos he obtained due to the events overseas. This painting was created in layers on the ground to give a multidimensional effect with acrylic paints then scraping it away to create its imagery. -
The Color Purple
Published in 1982 by American author Alice Walker. A winner of multiple awards such as the Pulitzer Price for Fiction in 1983 being the first black female to win such an award. Her literary creation was later adapted for both fill and musical theater that has since been dubbed one of the most 100 most influential novels by the BBC News. Her work continually leaves lasting marks on any reader despite the societal times in which it is read. -
Innenraum
Created by Anselm Kiefer in 1982 being inspired by fiction, German culture and the aftermath of World War II. His use of varying mediums like ashes, clothing, concrete and books provide a somber effect which emulates the inspirations he has in his creations. -
Cats
The 1982 musical Cats, composed by Andrew Lloyd Weber is renowned for its memorable songs and rhythmic dancing. This piece has taken the majestic quality that cats emulate and turned them into a creation that has stood the test of time. It is consistently reimagined in musical and film narrations. It looks as though it will continue through the decades and become on of the most acclaimed pieces of our time.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRsb2FX-Bnw) -
Gordon Wu Hall
Built in 1983 by architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. The piece held on to historic details such as the heraldic pater on the entrance, Tudor-Gothic style windows, and key stones. The desire of this building was to show a new identity to the university of Princeton as well as creating a focused social area. The building houses a predominantly wood embellished interior while the outside holds an abundance of geometric shapes and modern flares. -
Untitled (#130A)
Cindy Sherman in 1983 created Untitled (#130A) as a series of 69 photographs of herself reenacting pop culture clichés about women. She was known as a leading feminist artist who “re-examined” the roles women held in history and modern society. Her goal in her pieces is to leave them open to interpretation. -
Thriller
Michael Jackson’s Thriller held a music video in 1983 that showcased horror movie quality makeup, special effects and plot twists. The video starts in the dark of night with two characters that seem to be in high school talking of love. The video unfolds just like a movie would then launches into his iconic song which has only grown in notoriety.
(https://youtu.be/sOnqjkJTMaA) -
Girls just wanna have fun
In 1983 the video dives into a new use of cinematics with screen on screen imaging and videogame like graphics though a story that resembles a sitcom. A variety of fashions are used with crazy hair, sunglasses and vivid neon colors in makeup choices. The video mimics the song that girls just want to have fun and are seen doing so all across the city. This song will always apply to women everywhere.
(https://youtu.be/PIb6AZdTr-A) -
A Visit To / A Visit From / The Island
Created in 1983 by Eric Fischl. Consists of two adjoining enormous canvases to show the unavoidably obvious disparity between these groups of people in the same setting. The darker image was inspired by a photograph of fleeing Haitian refugees on the Florida cost. The attempt of this piece is to focus on the racial differences between the white tourists and the refugees. -
Dumping Core
Gretchen Benders video graphic art in 1984. A fury of images across thirteen video monitors showcasing an overload of information against a proto-techno soundtrack. Set to mimic the mass media networks of the age like MTV and CNN. Her art was an attempt to “force some kind of consciousness of underlying patterns of social control”. -
Nelson Fine Arts Center
Designed by Antoine Predock and construction beginning in 1985 in Arizona. The fine arts building houses the dance department, theater arts center and museum. The design pay homage to the desert in the state in which it resides and brings that barren expanse on campus. The geometric shapes the construction houses allow for varying places to seek shade while also being exposed to the similarity of the Arizona desert. -
Take on Me
By a-ha in 1985 melded a number of artist expressions including musical compositions, rotoscoped video, sketching, cartooning and comic illustrating. This Norwegian electropop trio skyrocketed to fam with their hit Take on Me. This music video won 6 MTV Music Awards and showcased an profound octave spanning vocal range.
(https://youtu.be/djV11Xbc914) -
Rabbit
Created by Jeff Koons in 1986 out of stainless steel. One of three identical pieces created. This piece was sold at auction in May of 2019 for $91.1 million dollars which is a record by any living artist. What is unique about this piece is the childlike imagery of a balloon animal standing roughly 3 feet high. Its simplicity it I find to be the most compelling part of this piece. -
Crack is Wack
Keith Haring from Pennsylvania created Crack is Wack in 1986 on a handball court in Manhattan. Vibrant orange and black set against a monochrome urban setting. Created within a 24-hour time frame due to the dislike of graffiti during the 1980’s and was done illegally. Due the chaotic crack epidemic of the time, his graphics were left up as the content resonated with the citizens of New York and promoted awareness. Rather than jail time he received a modest fine. -
Sextant in Dogtown
1987 by David Salle. Emulating a film montage including a parody of painterly designs and subjects. The partially dressed female images portrayed have been taken from the artist own photography portfolio from differing vantage points. No narrative was included with this piece which provides the assumption the creator wished the viewer to attain their own understanding or perception of the piece. -
I shop therefore I am
Created by Barbara Kruger in 1987. A screen print on vinyl. The implication of this piece is held that the public no longer believes they are judged by how or what they think, rather, more by the possessions they hold or own. With the booming market expansion of the 1980s Kruger struck at the heart of consumerism with her piece. It has since been used as advertisements of all kinds across the globe. -
Water Clock
Part of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Created by French scientist and artist Bernard Gitton in 1988. Stands roughly 30 feet tall being considered the largest water clock in north America. The medium of this piece is glass, steel and 70 gallons of deionized water, methyl alcohol and blue coloring dye. -
Lennon Wall
1988 Located in Prague Czech Republic as an iconic collaboration of artist merging their varying styles to showcase a brightly colors creation. The piece garnered further acclaim after the assassination of John Lennon. Over the decades it has become a shrine to the loss of Lennon as well as The Beatles and has continued to evolve as a billboard for continued political and peaceful verbiage by new artists. -
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
Taken by Elliott Erwitt, a French born American photographer renowned for his use of black and white candid photos of the random and bizarre instances in the common setting.
