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Heart On

Joan Snyder American
1975
Not on view
Composed of an assortment of unconventional materials, Heart On is a voluptuous, highly tactile painting that Snyder made at the height of her participation in the feminist movement. Sections of the canvas were cut open and, in some cases, sewn back together to resemble wounds and sutures. Created during a period of "anger and pain," the work also chronicles the artist’s "sexual awakening," as she grappled with her growing desire for women—a subject suggested by the work’s playful, provocative title. Heart On exemplifies the personal and sexual politics of Snyder’s practice while also reflecting her commitment to an aesthetic of partiality and incompletion that exposes the painting’s anatomy to view.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Heart On
  • Artist: Joan Snyder (American, born Highland Park, New Jersey, 1940)
  • Date: 1975
  • Medium: Oil, acrylic, paper, fabric, cheesecloth, papier maché, mattress batting, and thread on canvas
  • Dimensions: 72 × 96 in. (182.9 × 243.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Rugoff, 1981
  • Object Number: 1981.199
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Joan Snyder
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Angry Woman, from "Femfolio", Joan Snyder American, Digital print with color lithography and hand coloring
Angry Woman, from "Femfolio"
Joan Snyder
Publisher Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions
Printer John C. Erickson
2007
Gray and Brass, John Sloan American, Oil on canvas, American
Gray and Brass
John Sloan
1907
The Village Where I Came From, Pacita Abad Filipino American, Acrylic, oil, buttons, beads, and painted cloth on stitched and padded canvas
The Village Where I Came From
Pacita Abad
1991
Smashed Strokes Hope, Joan Snyder American, Oil on canvas
Smashed Strokes Hope
Joan Snyder
1971
Necklace, Meta Overbeck American, Gold, emeralds, Montana sapphires, topazes, enamel, American
Necklace
Meta Overbeck
Louis C. Tiffany
Manufacturer Tiffany & Co.
ca. 1914–15

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