Label TextThis painting comes from Dunham’s “Mesokingdom” series, made up of over a dozen large paintings which follow an angry, top-hatted protagonist through various backgrounds and landscapes. Dunham is known for his distinct style that combines inspirations from cartoons, surrealism, and emotionally expressive abstract painting. The monochrome palette of the work adds to its illustrative quality, but also emphasized the interconnected and somewhat confusing way the artist composes line and shape. Disconcertingly, the figure here is situated horizontally across the top half of the canvas, and he appears to be screaming and driving his phallus-shaped nose into a curving, peaceful landscape that appears both above and below the man’s chomping teeth. Dunham’s “Mesokingdom” works have been described as presentations of male rage, visually performing aggression but ultimately overwhelmed by the forces of nature and made slightly ridiculous.
DimensionsFrame: 87 1/2 × 77 1/2 × 2 in. (222.3 × 196.9 × 5.1 cm)
Canvas (/image): 80 × 70 in. (203.2 × 177.8 cm)
Canvas (/image): 80 × 70 in. (203.2 × 177.8 cm)
Accession Number 2008.23
Classificationspainting
ProvenanceArtist. Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond J. Learsy, New York [acquired by 2003]; Des Moines Art Center [gift of the previous, 2008]
