id:			375547
accession number:	2019.19.1.a
share license status:	Copyrighted
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2019.19.1.a
updated:		2021-01-22 10:06:24.144000

Laments: Death came and he looked like... (Sarcophagus coffin), 1987. Jenny Holzer (American, 1950-). Marble; 45.7 x 61 x 137.2 cm (18 x 24 x 54 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchased with funds donated by Scott Mueller 2019.19.1.a © Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

title:				Laments: Death came and he looked like... (Sarcophagus coffin)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1987
creation date earliest:		1987
creation date latest:		1987
current location:		229C Contemporary
creditline:			Purchased with funds donated by Scott Mueller
copyright:			© Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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culture:	America
technique:	marble
department:	Contemporary Art
collection:	CONTEMP - Sculpture
type:		Mixed Media
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Jenny Holzer (American, 1950-)  - artist

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measurements: 45.7 x 61 x 137.2 cm (18 x 24 x 54 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2019-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
The same text is displayed in motion on the LED sign and static on the surface of the sarcophagus.

digital description: 
<em>Laments: Death came and he looked like… </em>belongs to one of Jenny Holzer’s iconic sculpture series, the <em>Laments</em>. A response to the AIDS epidemic, the series is based on 13 texts written by Holzer, which she has described as “voices of the dead.” Each text was manifested in two forms: as colored light flowing between the ceiling and floor on LED signs, and as engravings carved into the tops of sarcophagi made of different stones. This work is one of those pairings.

wall description: 

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Auping, Michael, <em>ed. Jenny Holzer (Universe Women Artists)</em>. New York: Universe, 1992.
	page number: 	40-43, 52, 56, 64, 82, 93, 96, 103-104 and 106.
	url:		

	Auping, Michael. <em>Jenny Holzer: The Venice Installation</em>. Exh. Cat. Buffalo, NY: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1991.
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	Breslin, David, ed. <em>Jenny Holzer</em>. Exh. Cat. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2008.
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	Ferguson, Bruce. “Wordsmith: an interview with Jenny Holzer.” Art in America 74, no. 12 (December 1986).
	page number: 	108
	url:		

	Hughes, Gordon. “Power’s Script: Or, Jenny Holzer’s Art after ‘Art after Philosophy,’” Oxford Art Journal 29, no. 3 (2006).
	page number: 	419-440
	url:		

	Joselit, David, et al. <em>Jenny Holzer</em>. London: Phaidon, 2003.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	
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	<em>After the Revolution: Women Who Transformed Contemporary Art.</em> Munich, London, and New York: Prestel Verlag, 2007.
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	Siegel, Jeanne “Jenny Holzer’s Language Games.” Arts Magazine 60, no. 4 (December 1985).
	page number: 	64-68
	url:		

	Taylor, Paul. “Jenny Holzer: I wanted to do a portrait of society.” Flash Art International 151 (March/April 1990).
	page number: 	116-119
	url:		

	Waldman, Diane, ed. <em>Jenny Holzer</em>. Exh. Cat. Guggenheim Museum Publications: New York, 1989.
	page number: 	92-97
	url:		

	Holzer, Jenny. <em>Jenny Holzer: Laments.</em> Exh. Cat. New York: Dia Art Foundation, 1989.
	page number: 	
	url:		

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IMAGES