 Heel
of the Boot: prints by Sue Coeco-curated by Marilyn Zeitlin and Jean Makin Arizona State University Art Museum, Nelson Fine Arts Center, Tempe, AZ October 19-December 29, 1996 This exhibition is the first comprehensive retrospective (1979-1996) of Sue Coe's prints to date. The museum maintains in its print archive a complete inventory of Coe's etchings and lithographs. "The content of Coe's work in prints reflects her commitment to bring into our field of vision -- sometimes in an in-your-face way -- the tragedy of those who are vulnerable to the inhumane use of power. Sue Coe's work -- all of it -- is about power: the misuse of it, the legitimation of its use against the vulnerable. She is the toughest and tenderest, most persistent and most persuasive artist working to awaken people from the torpor of indifference that she equates with complicity. The issues that she has focused on form a calculus of the vulnerable: victims of racism; of war, no matter which side they are on; women; children; and most vulnerable of all, animals. Since 1979, Coe has made prints as a means to extend the reach of her work and the messages it carries. This is in the tradition of the historical role of prints, since an edition makes multiple copies of an image, defying the elite distribution system in which paintings and other unique art objects circulate. Further, the relationaship of printmaking to the printing press is a close one, so that there exists a continuity between two kinds of persuasion, verbal and visual, in Coe's prints. She lampoons the purveyors of power, the politicians or soldiers or butchers." from the catalog essay by Marilyn Zeitlin, Director, ASU Museum Subsequent exhibition at the University of Alabama's Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, February 6-March 1, 1998. |
Three Penny Opera Among Coe's earliest prints are 9 photo-etchings, each image smaller than 6 by 9 inches. Like the majority of her more than 100 print images, these have been printed and published by Coe and Steve Murray. These 9 photo-etchings (dated 1979-1984) are based on drawings dated 1979; the un-numbered print edition was begun in 1984. Plates were defaced 1991. | |
Greed Belfast  Bobby Sands  Dance of Death  |
The Dancing Bear  El Salvador  South Africa  Vivisection  |
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Please note: All images in Graphic Witness are for personal enjoyment or educational use. Any other use is prohibited.
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