Hobo (Zappo)

Name/Title

Hobo (Zappo)

Entry/Object ID

2021.50

Description

Andrews uses an aluminum frame to encase and display in the upper section empty packages of chips and snack and an image of a clown below. The clown is removed from the realm of children’s entertainment, and the reality of his life as an adult with his droopy gaze, no wig, and smeared make-up produces a change of perception into identity, and the nature of what is for show and what must be hidden.

Artwork Details

Medium

Ink on paper and plexiglass, aluminum, paint, found objects

Context

This work is part of a larger series that investigates the figure of the American hobo. After researching historical images of hobo clowns and migratory workers from the early 1900s, Andrews gathered a cache of costumes and worked with a stylist to construct the fictitious historic characters. The artist put out a casting call for older men, and had one image from each shoot silkscreened onto a sheet of plexiglas. Andrews then populated the top register of the custom designed frames with found objects—such campaign buttons, beer cans, lottery tickets, and candy wrappers.

Acquisition

Accession

2021.50

Source or Donor

Dominik N. Linsmayer

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Dominik N. Linsmayer

Made/Created

Artist

Andrews, Kathryn

Date made

2013

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Clowns, Adaptive reuse, Hoboes, Migrant laborers

Dimensions

Height

37 in

Width

43 in

Depth

2 in

Exhibition

Life Cycles