The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 23, 2024
Suit Shopping: An Engraved Narrative
2000–2002
(American, b. 1962)
Sheet: 49.4 x 61.7 cm (19 7/16 x 24 5/16 in.); Platemark: 37.8 x 52.8 cm (14 7/8 x 20 13/16 in.)
© Courtesy of the Artist and Mary Ryan Gallery, New York, NY
Location: not on view
Description
Raftery depicts the habits and mores of average Americans- the ordinary events of modern life-often humorously. "Shopping for a suit is a cultural remnant, it is an event in a man's life," the artist explains. "I was thinking about male vanity." Raftery presents such mundane situations as straightforward, old-fashioned narratives, allowing the story to unfold in a series of related scenes. Engraving is exacting and difficult, so few artists today choose this printmaking method. Raftery, however, has mastered the art of cutting grooves into a copper plate. Since paper currency is printed from metal plates engraved in the same way, he likes the implied connection between the technique and monetary power and authority.- Fresh Prints: The Nineties to Now. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 22-July 26, 2015).The Cleveland Museum of Art (3/22/2015 - 7/26/2015); "Fresh Prints: The Nineties to Now"
- {{cite web|title=Suit Shopping: An Engraved Narrative|url=false|author=Andrew Raftery|year=2000–2002|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.15