The Temptation of St. Antony
Artist: Tim Rollins (American, 1955 - 2017)
Artist: K.O.S. (American, founded 1982)
Date: 1987-1989
Dimensions:
H: 66 in. (167.7 cm); W: 115 in. (292.1 cm)
Medium: Tempera, watercolor, acrylic, and pencil on book pages laid on linen.
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Museum Purchase, by exchange
Object number: 2004.53
Label Text:“Art is most important to us as a means of knowledge of this world. That means not just the "World" in capital letters, but the world of the self, the world of the … neighborhood, the world of the nation, the world of …other countries. It's not just producing objects, but producing a form of critical thinking about the world.” (Tim Rollins, 1995)
As a teacher in a tough South Bronx middle school in the 1980s, Tim Rollins combined literature and art in his classes, declaring it “unethical to have kids painting when they could not spell the word painting.” Rollins formed a collaborative artists’ group with some of his students, who named themselves K.O.S., or Kids of Survival.
Rollins and K.O.S. use the pages of Gustave Flaubert’s surreal 1874 novel Temptation of St. Antony as their “canvas,” exploring their personal responses to the story in which the hermit monk is tempted by monsters, historical figures, and the Devil to abandon his faith. They also respond to the AIDS crisis of the late 1980s—when New York City, like Antony, was tormented by temptation and fear. The AIDS virus, Antony’s role as patron saint of disease, and the novel’s musings on the microscopic world come together in the forms resembling microorganisms.
As a teacher in a tough South Bronx middle school in the 1980s, Tim Rollins combined literature and art in his classes, declaring it “unethical to have kids painting when they could not spell the word painting.” Rollins formed a collaborative artists’ group with some of his students, who named themselves K.O.S., or Kids of Survival.
Rollins and K.O.S. use the pages of Gustave Flaubert’s surreal 1874 novel Temptation of St. Antony as their “canvas,” exploring their personal responses to the story in which the hermit monk is tempted by monsters, historical figures, and the Devil to abandon his faith. They also respond to the AIDS crisis of the late 1980s—when New York City, like Antony, was tormented by temptation and fear. The AIDS virus, Antony’s role as patron saint of disease, and the novel’s musings on the microscopic world come together in the forms resembling microorganisms.
On view
In Collection(s)