Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a gold drawing by Andrea Bowers. It dates from 2012 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
The painting shows a image drawn on cardboard.
It's made with markers. The cardboard was found, not made for art.
The artist used a source image from the Emma Goldman Papers.
This is interesting because it uses a historical source.
The artist made this in 2012.
You can learn more about this style by looking at the work of artist: Andrea Bowers.
Overview
The work resides in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, aligning with her broader engagement with political memory and material economy.
Created in 2012, this drawing by Andrea Bowers is executed in marker on reclaimed cardboard, a material chosen for its everyday impermanence. The image derives from archival photographs in the Emma Goldman Papers at UC Berkeley, reflecting Bowers’ practice of recontextualizing historical visual documents. The work resides in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, aligning with her broader engagement with political memory and material economy.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing references a photograph from the papers of Emma Goldman, a prominent anarchist and activist of the early 20th century. By reproducing this image without commentary, Bowers invites reflection on the visibility of dissent and the fragility of historical records. The use of found cardboard underscores the provisional nature of memory and the labor of preserving radical voices in institutional archives.
Technique & Style
Bowers employs simple, direct marker lines to render the source image, avoiding embellishment or stylization. The rough texture of the found cardboard becomes part of the composition, grounding the portrait in physical reality. The medium’s immediacy contrasts with the archival weight of the original photograph, creating a dialogue between ephemeral gesture and enduring historical record.
History & Provenance
The source image originates from the Emma Goldman Papers, a collection held at the University of California, Berkeley, documenting the life and activism of the anarchist thinker. Bowers selected this material for its historical resonance and reproduced it in 2012 as part of a series examining political legacy. The work entered MoMA’s collection shortly after its creation, affirming its place within contemporary discourse on activism and representation.
Context
Bowers’ practice consistently draws from activist archives, using drawing as a form of quiet resistance and remembrance. In the early 2010s, her work responded to renewed interest in feminist and anarchist histories, as well as debates around the role of art in social movements. This piece fits within a broader effort to reanimate marginalized figures through material choices that emphasize accessibility and humility.
Legacy
The work contributes to an ongoing reevaluation of how political history is visually transmitted. By elevating a modest, utilitarian surface and a hand-drawn reproduction, Bowers challenges conventional notions of artistic value and archival authority. Her approach has influenced younger artists to consider the ethics and aesthetics of reusing historical imagery in contemporary practice.
Artist & collection
Artist
Andrea Bowers (born 1965), is an American artist working in a variety of media including video, drawing, and installation.
