Accession Number
2005/2.66

Title
Post No Eternels

Artist(s)
Burhan Cahit Doğançay

Artist Nationality
Turkish (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1984

Medium & Support
collage, fumage, acrylic, and gouache on paper

Dimensions
22 in x 15 in (55.88 cm x 38.1 cm)

Credit Line
Anonymous gift

Subject matter
Doğançay was inspired by urban walls and graffiti art. Growing up in Turkey and eventually moving to New York City, he was exposed to a lot of street art and would incorporate the walls he saw into his own work. To the artist, walls show social and political changes through the weathering and markings that are left behind by people, government, and forces of nature. The phrase, "post no eternels" is written within the red rectangle twice. "Eternel" is French for eternal. The phrase could be referencing the fact that urban walls are ever-changing which was one of the aspects the artists loved about them.

The red rectangle is made of a thin piece of wood which appears to be balsa wood or a similar equivalent. With the green border that has a thicker bottom edge it is reminiscent of a boarded up window in an abandoned building. The bricks surrounding it are painted on and add to the illusion that this is a piece of urban art. The hearts have some darker coloration that is likely a result of fumage, which is an impression left by the smoke of a candle.

Primary Object Classification
Mixed Media

Primary Object Type
collage

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Turkish (culture or style)
graffiti
hearts (motifs)
walls