Throughout the course of Ed and Nancy Kienholz’s careers and collaborations, the television found its way into many of their works and became a recurring theme. In February 2016, we’ll be presenting an exhibition 13 televisions works the couple produced between the late 1960s and Ed’s passing in 1994, as well as a singular piece created by Nancy in 2006.

One of the works included is The Death Watch (1976). A wooden box is transformed into a makeshift television with James Earl Fraser’s iconic image  End of the Trail (1915) of a Native American man slumped on his horse displayed on the screen. The scene is obscured by the curled horns of a sheep, which are entangled in the heart-shaped back of a wrought iron chair. The materials exude a romantic frontier nostalgia, in stark juxtaposition with the message of genocide and devastation.

Kienholz Televisions is on view 24 February - 2 April 2016. A fully illustrated catalogue has been published on the occasion of the exhibition. See more works by Kienholz here. 

IMAGE: Edward & Nancy Reddin Kienholz, The Death Watch, 1976, mixed media assemblage, 77 x 20 ½ x 26 in. (195.6 x 52.1 x 66 cm)