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Gallery Text

Here you see two preparatory drawings for Wodiczko’s

seminal Homeless Vehicles, exemplifying the range of

his artistic practice. With knowledge and training in

industrial design, he has tackled entrenched societal

problems like homelessness by creating objects

designed to address the needs of people living without

permanent shelter. In the late 1980s, after consulting

with unhoused individuals, he made a series of vehicles

with spaces for sleeping, collecting empty bottles, and

storing possessions—as these vividly rendered sketches

illustrate. The drawings reveal Wodiczko’s ideas in

practice, with details that were realized in the final

object and used by several men in New York City. The

vehicles were not meant to be a viable solution to

the housing crisis, but rather were a form of social

disruption, a critique of former U.S. President Ronald

Reagan’s “trickle-down” economic policy and the ways

in which it exacerbated existing disparities.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2021.386
People
Krzysztof Wodiczko, Polish (Warsaw, Poland born 1943)
Title
Study for Homeless Vehicle
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1987
Culture
Polish
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/372997

Physical Descriptions

Medium
White crayon, white ink, black ink, and graphite on black wove paper
Dimensions
30.4 X 45.9 cm
Inscriptions and Marks
  • (not assigned): graphite, on back of old backing board: L92.50.62
  • label: On backing, removed: Galerie Lelong & Co. / Krzysztof Wodiczko / Study for Homeless Vehicle, 1987 / White crayon, white ink, black ink, and graphite on black paper / mounted on black paper board / Framed 20 1/4 x 30 1/8 x 1 3/8 in (51.4 x 76.5 x 3.5 cm) / (GL3272)
  • exhibition label: On backing, removed: Public Address: Krzysztof Wodiczko / Walker Art Center: October 11, 1992-January 3, 1993 / Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston: May 22-August 22, 1993 / Checklist No. 41 Crate No. 3 / Krzysztof Wodiczko / Study for Homeless Vehicle, 1987 / White crayon, white ink, black ink, graphite on black paper mounted on black / paper board / 12 x 18-1/16 in. (30.5 x 46 cm.) sheet / 20 x 30 in. (50.8 x 76.2 cm.) mounted on board / 20 1/4 x 30 1/4 x 1 1/2 in (51.4 x 76.8 x 3.8 cm) framed / Courtesy the artist, New York

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Galerie Lelong & Co, New York], sold; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2021.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Margaret Fisher Fund
Copyright
© Krzysztof Wodiczko. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Accession Year
2021
Object Number
2021.386
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Exhibition History

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu