Knowledge Bank

Variant Dates: 1975, 1976.

Medium: Etching with chine collé.

Print Image Size: 23 1/4 x 17 inches.

Print Edition: 10 (with 3 artist's proofs).

Alternate Medium: Photo-etching with color chine collé.

Ink(s): black.

Support: Arches wove paper with yellow and orange chine-collé.

Newspaper photograph of former Vice President Spiro Agnew, with newsprint text across his forehead that reads "violated his oath." Additional text below reads "Former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew was disbarred Thursday by the Maryland Court of Appeals. Disbarment came after the court ruled that Agnew was 'so morally obtuse' that he consciously cheated the government, violated his oath of office, and failed to see his duty to act honestly in all matters. The proceedings were the result of Agnew's no contest plea to federal tax evasion." The Latin legend "Ex nihilo, nihil fit" - "from nothing, nothing comes" - is highlighted at the top, above a different close-up of Agnew's face in the negative. The scene includes architectural elements, animals, and figures derived from Renaissance engravings and early printed book illustrations. A monkey in the foreground repeats a passage from the Agnew newsprint, and also appears in a later print titled Ephemera Series #6 [CMA 2013.057.048].