
A Drawing While Waiting for an Idea
<p>This small print is an excellent example of the mystical turn of Rosenquist's thought. The cigarette burns, made with an airbrush, stand for the stars on the edge of the universe, thus contrasting the insignificant with the infinite.</p> <p>He chose to print on a paper towel, explaining, "It's really Eastern philosophy. After a day's work, you march in and wipe your hands off on a paper towel. You are wiping off the things you did all day, never knowing when your best gesture is made, when your creative ability might be showing."</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1966
- Dimensions
- Image: 13.9 × 16.9 cm (5 1/2 × 6 11/16 in.); Sheet: 37.8 × 23.9 cm (14 15/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- James Rosenquist
Artist

Painting
James Albert Rosenquist was an American artist and one of the proponents of the pop art movement. Drawing from his background working in sign painting, Rosenquist's pieces often explored the role of advertising and consumer culture in art and society, utilizing techniques he learned making commercial art to depict popular cultural icons and mundane everyday objects. While his works have often been compared to those from other key figures of the pop art movement, such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, Rosenquist's pieces were unique in the way that they often employed elements of surrealism using fragments of advertisements and cultural imagery to emphasize the overwhelming nature of ads. He was a 2001 inductee into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.
Full artist profile →More
More by James Rosenquist
The Flame Dances on Leo's Book
1997 · Color lithograph on white wove paper
Time Door Time D’Or
1989 · Acrylic paint, dye, lithograph and paper pulp on paper
Where the Water Goes
1989 · Paper, acrylic paint, dye and lithograph on paper
Space Dust
1989 · Paper, acrylic paint, dye and lithograph on paper
Skull Snap
1989 · Paper, acrylic paint, dye and lithograph on paper
Dog Descending a Staircase
1980 · Color etching and lithograph on paper
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- James Rosenquist
- Year
- 1966
- Dimensions
- Image: 13.9 × 16.9 cm (5 1/2 × 6 11/16 in.); Sheet: 37.8 × 23.9 cm (14 15/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1966-079244
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





