(Dallas, Texas, 1956 - )
2013
Screenprint and hemp twine on paper
33 x 22 in. (83.8 x 55.9 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of Myers School of Art, University of Akron, thINK editions
2013.4
Section Closed was created by Bolton with assistance from University of Akron printmaking faculty and students as the centerpiece of the 2013 thINK editions program. As is characteristic of the artist’s work, the image was created using photographs that were modified in the computer. Section Closed offers political commentary in showing a beautiful landscape to which we are denied access. He also incorporates “kitsch” elements—including the landscape, which appears to be a low-cost reproduction, and the stick that supports it—in a high art context. Bolton also deliberately employs a relatively coarse photomechanical dot pattern that references crude commercial techniques. The shadows, which do not conform to reality, suggest that the artist may have drawn upon photographs that used several light sources.