Shootist

Shootist

2000
Artist
Carroll Dunham, American, 1949-
Born: New Haven, CT
Work Locations: New York
Country
United States
Object
painting
Medium
Mixed media on linen
Accession Number
2001.714
Credit Line
Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum
Carroll Dunham (American). Shootist. 2000. Mixed media on linen. Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum. 2001.714.
Dimensions
height: 51 in, 129.5400 cm; width: 111 in, 281.9400 cm; frame height: 54 in, 137.16 cm; frame width: 113.5 in, 288.29 cm; frame depth: 2.5 in, 6.35 cm
Inscription
Signed & dated recto upper right: "C. Dunham / Jan.-Feb., April, June-Sept. 2000"
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Collection
Modern and Contemporary Art

In “Shootist,” Carroll Dunham brings together two foundational issues of pop culture: violence and sex. An angry cartoon-like character, with teeth bared, makes parallel, extended belligerent gestures with both his drawn gun and his erect penis-nose. The unknown target of his aggression lies somewhere beyond the canvas, yet the figure’s resolve is unmistakable. Forcefulness is conveyed through more than the facial grimace and weapon(s); the flat black horizontal shapes of top hat, shoulders, arm, and gun offer a powerful directional thrust. We know this genre of character so well that we might even mentally fill in an amplified “bang!” This single iconic figure, named Killer, first appeared in Dunham’s work in 1997 and is an example of Dunham’s interest in off-color comics and cartoons, graphic novels, surrealism, graffiti, pop, and children’s art. *

Born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1949, Dunham graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1972.

* First paragraph, in part, excerpted from DAM’s exhibition catalog RADAR: Selections from the Collection of Vicki and Kent Logan, p. 84

© Carroll Dunham, courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York

Known Provenance
Purchased 1 February 2001 (Gagosian Gallery) by Vicki and Kent Logan; gifted by Vicki and Kent Logan 2016 to the Denver Art Museum
Exhibition History
  • "RADAR: Selections from the Collection of Vicki and Kent Logan"—Denver Art Museum, 10/07/2006 - 07/15/2007
  • "Focus: The Figure"—Denver Art Museum, 08/09/2008 - 02/2011
  • "Audacious: Contemporary Artists Speak Out"—Denver Art Museum, 2/21/2016-2/20/2018
  • “Disruption: Works from the Vicki and Kent Logan Collection” — Denver Art Museum, 1/13/2022