Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a print by León Ferrari. It dates from 1984 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Created in 1984, this work consists of eighty-two black‑and‑white photocopies assembled as a series.
About this work
The clipping mixes news and personal tributes, focusing on the bishop’s role in La Rioja.
This is a black-and-white photocopy of a newspaper clipping. The headline reads about a car crash killing a bishop named Enrique Angelelli. The photo shows a priest in formal robes, standing outdoors near a building. The text is in Spanish, with details about the accident and funeral.
The clipping mixes news and personal tributes, focusing on the bishop’s role in La Rioja. It’s dated August 5, 1976, and printed in a local Buenos Aires paper.
Look up The Museum of Modern Art to see where this series is held.
Overview
Created in 1984, this work consists of eighty-two black‑and‑white photocopies assembled as a series. Each sheet reproduces a newspaper clipping reporting the 1976 death of Bishop Enrique Angelelli, an Argentine cleric whose funeral was covered in the local press. The piece is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Subject & Meaning
The duplicated clippings foreground the tragic killing of a bishop during Argentina’s period of political violence, juxtaposing official news language with personal tributes. By repeatedly reproducing the same report, the work underscores the intersection of media representation, state‑sanctioned repression, and the role of the Church in a turbulent society.
Technique & Style
León Ferrari employed ordinary photocopy technology to mass‑produce the images, a choice that aligns with his conceptual practice of using low‑cost, reproducible media. The stark monochrome aesthetic of the newspaper format emphasizes the documentary quality of the source while stripping it of any decorative embellishment.
History & Provenance
Ferrari, an Argentine artist noted for his politically engaged interventions, assembled the series in the mid‑1980s, a time when the country was transitioning from military rule to democracy. The work entered MoMA’s collection shortly after its creation, reflecting the institution’s interest in contemporary Latin American protest art.
Context
The clipping originates from a Buenos Aires newspaper dated 5 August 1976, a period marked by the Argentine military’s systematic persecution of perceived dissidents, including clergy who advocated for social justice. The bishop’s death became a symbol of the broader campaign of state terror.
Legacy
Ferrari’s use of photocopying as a vehicle for political commentary anticipates later practices that treat mass media as both subject and tool. The series continues to be cited in discussions of art that interrogates the mechanisms of information dissemination and collective memory.
Artist & collection
Artist
León Ferrari (September 3, 1920 – July 25, 2013) was an Argentine contemporary conceptual artist.
