Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Nancy Spero Leon Golub. It dates from 1971 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Created in 1971, this screenprint is a collaborative work by Nancy Spero and Leon Golub.
About this work
Overview
The artists’ joint signature confirms their shared authorship, reflecting a period of active political engagement in their practice.
Created in 1971, this screenprint is a collaborative work by Nancy Spero and Leon Golub. It is part of the permanent collection at The Museum of Modern Art. The piece combines two distinct visual fields in black, white, and red, using stark contrasts to convey tension. The composition is minimal yet charged, with handwritten text integrated as a critical element. The artists’ joint signature confirms their shared authorship, reflecting a period of active political engagement in their practice.
Subject & Meaning
The image juxtaposes a concealed, motionless figure on the left with a dynamic, red-outlined form leaping on the right. The hooded silhouette suggests anonymity and repression, while the jumping figure evokes sudden movement or resistance. The scrawled phrase, 'they will torture you, my friend,' introduces a direct threat, implicating the viewer in a context of violence and surveillance. Together, the elements frame a meditation on power, fear, and bodily vulnerability.
Technique & Style
The print employs screenprinting to achieve sharp, flat areas of ink alongside gestural, hand-drawn marks. The left panel uses dense black to obscure form, while the right features a red outline with a smudged gray interior, suggesting motion and impermanence. The handwritten text is applied with urgency, contrasting the mechanical precision of the screenprint. This hybrid approach merges industrial reproduction with raw, expressive intervention, characteristic of the artists’ political aesthetic.
History & Provenance
The work was produced during a period when Spero and Golub were deeply involved in anti-war and feminist art movements. It entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly after its creation, reflecting institutional recognition of their politically engaged practice. The print’s collaborative nature aligns with their broader efforts to challenge the myth of the solitary male artist. Its preservation in a major museum underscores its significance within late 20th-century American printmaking.
Context
Made during the Vietnam War and amid rising domestic unrest, the piece responds to state violence and the erosion of civil liberties. Spero and Golub were part of a generation of artists using visual language to confront authoritarianism and gendered power structures. Their work often incorporated text, fragmented bodies, and archival imagery to disrupt passive viewing. This print aligns with contemporaneous efforts to make art a site of political testimony and collective memory.
Legacy
The print remains a reference point in discussions of feminist and activist printmaking. Its fusion of text and image influenced later artists working at the intersection of politics and visual culture. While not widely reproduced, its presence in MoMA’s collection ensures continued scholarly attention. The work’s unflinching tone and collaborative origin continue to inform contemporary practices that prioritize voice, witness, and resistance over aesthetic detachment.
Artist & collection
