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Larry Stark , b. Dec 24, 1940

Illinois

1972
11 3/8 in. x 19 1/4 in. (28.89 cm x 48.9 cm)

Medium and Support: screenprint

Credit Line: gift of the artist

Accession Number: 1987.186.13

Commentary

For this photographic project, conceptual artist Larry Stark drove his van throughout the United States photographing in each of the fifty states. After compiling thousands of pictures, both in black and white and color, he produced a portfolio of fifty silk-screens to create a visual diary of his road trip. From highway signs to Mobil gas stations and Jack in the Box restaurants, the portfolio provides a snapshot of the early 1970s. Many prints also suggest multiple places at once, diluting a state’s individuality and challenging viewers to determine its exact location, implying the homogeneity of small town America.

Like Robert Frank’s The Americans of 1955–56, Stark’s The United States of America in the Early 1970s is a record of the open road. The artist once said “I’ve been across the country about 80 times and I did a lot of highways. It was art for travel and travel for art.” From artists Robert Frank and Larry Stark to popular movies like Easy Rider and National Lampoon's Vacation to Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, many travelers are attracted to the country’s vastness and take to the open road each year.

Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

People, Places, Things: Symbols of American Culture Addison Gallery of American Art , 9/4/2012 - 1/13/2013

Related Parent(s) Click a record to view

The United States of America in the Early 1970's
1987.186.1-50

Related Siblings(s) Click a record to view

Alabama
1987.186.1

Georgia
1987.186.10

Hawaii
1987.186.11

Idaho
1987.186.12

Indiana
1987.186.14

Iowa
1987.186.15

Kansas
1987.186.16

Kentucky
1987.186.17

Louisiana
1987.186.18

Maine
1987.186.19

Alaska
1987.186.2

Maryland
1987.186.20

Massachusetts
1987.186.21

Michigan
1987.186.22

Minnesota
1987.186.23

Mississippi
1987.186.24

Missouri
1987.186.25

Montana
1987.186.26

Nebraska
1987.186.27

Nevada
1987.186.28

New Hampshire
1987.186.29

Arizona
1987.186.3

New Jersey
1987.186.30

New Mexico
1987.186.31

New York
1987.186.32

North Carolina
1987.186.33

North Dakota
1987.186.34

Ohio
1987.186.35

Oklahoma
1987.186.36

Oregon
1987.186.37

Pennsylvania
1987.186.38

Rhode Island
1987.186.39

Arkansas
1987.186.4

South Carolina
1987.186.40

South Dakota
1987.186.41

Tennessee
1987.186.42

Texas
1987.186.43

Utah
1987.186.44

Vermont
1987.186.45

Virginia
1987.186.46

Washington
1987.186.47

West Virginia
1987.186.48

Wisconsin
1987.186.49

California
1987.186.5

Wyoming
1987.186.50

Colorado
1987.186.6

Connecticut
1987.186.7

Delaware
1987.186.8

Florida
1987.186.9

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