Untitled

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    Photo: Stephen Pitkin/Pitkin Studio
c. 1980
Paint and marker on television picture tube
13 x 16.5 x 5.5 inches
Collection of
Souls Grown Deep Foundation
Description

Two television picture tubes are prototypes for many of Murray’s later works on paper. The picture tubes are allegorical narratives, with forces of good and evil battling for control, locked in a dramatic stalemate. Three other pieces depict similar conflicts. One is painted on an asbestos panel, a material that inhibits fire. The other two, a matching pair, are painted on broken panels of sheetrock. The latter pair represents one of the first known examples of Murray’s use of eyes and definite human faces in a painting.