Karl Wirsum
American, 1939-2021
Youdue
INV-2908
Karl Wirsum
American, 1939-2021c. 1966
colored pencildrawings (visual works)
Date
c. 1966
Medium
Black and colored fiber-tipped pens and colored crayons, with brush and black ink, on white wove paper
Dimensions
35.3 × 27.7 cm (13 15/16 × 10 15/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel W. Koffler
A 1961 graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Wirsum was influenced both by the art of Picasso, the Surrealists, and Marcel Duchamp as well as the jazz and blues musicians he saw as an adolescent at the Maxwell Street Market. Wirsum incorporated his love of music into his art, using repetition, symmetry, and free association. Traveling in Mexico after graduating from SAIC, Wirsum found inspiration in contemporary Mexican ceramics, textiles, and folk art, as well as the ancient relics of the Aztec and Mayan cultures.
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