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Afghanistan

2001

Images

A 77 by 50 3/4 inch painting with a black ground and the work's title, Afghanistan, painted in white stenciled letters across the bottom. Above the title are three yellow arrows pointing towards a circle. In the center of the circle is a pink map of Afghanistan, with Kabul painted in black letters. Three concentric rings surround this, the outer and inner rings are white with black text, and the middle ring is red with black stars. The text reads, starting with the outer ring, "Just as in the anatomy of man every planet," and continuing with the inner ring "Must have its hind part."

Afghanistan

2001

Oil on canvas

77 x 50 3/4 in. (195.6 x 128.9 cm)

 

Photo: Courtesy of the Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine; Artwork: © Star of Hope Foundation, Vinalhaven, Maine

Description

Afghanistan was Indiana's first painting after witnessing the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. For this work he resurrected the format of his Confederacy series, changing the legend to read “Just as in the anatomy of man every planet / must have its hind part,” and placing Kabul in the center of the series of concentric rings. To a reporter at the time Indiana conceded that is was “a rather harsh statement. . . . There’s an aggressive note in our government and this is an aggressive painting.” [1]

 

[1] Nancy Garland, "Artistic Freedom—Maine Painters Turn Their Emotional Reactions to Sept. 11 into Works of Art," Bangor (Me.) Daily News, September 11, 2002, Suppl. p. 10.