- Gallery Text
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These prints engage a wide-ranging visual vocabulary. The bold block text urging viewers to “ENLIST!” recalls recruitment posters issued by the U.S. government during World Wars I and II. The figures in Pruitt’s works, however, are not soldiers in any historical or contem-porary military, but a mechanic and pilot in a fantastical future, each bearing the tools of their trades. Inspired by science fiction and comic books, the artist envisions a world in which individuals of African descent band together to herald the Mothership Defense Squadron. This narrative aligns these prints with the Afrofuturist move-ment, which imagines a liberated African diaspora leading a culturally and technologi-cally advanced civilization. The otherworldly setting is further heightened by Pruitt’s dappled, ombré skies. The artist achieved the effect of a diaphanous atmosphere by applying two tones of blue spray paint to the Mylar sheets from which his lithographic plates were produced.
- Identification and Creation
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- Object Number
- 2018.33.47
- People
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Robert Pruitt, American (Houston, TX born 1975)
- Title
- Star Pilot
- Classification
- Prints
- Work Type
- Date
- 2012
- Culture
- American
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/361200
- Physical Descriptions
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- Medium
- Offset lithograph on white wove paper
- Technique
- Offset print
- Dimensions
- 76.2 × 53.3 cm (30 × 21 in.)
- Provenance
- Robert Pruitt, created 2012; [Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, PA], sold; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2018.
- Acquisition and Rights
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- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Margaret Fisher Fund
- Copyright
- © Robert Pruitt
- Accession Year
- 2018
- Object Number
- 2018.33.47
- Division
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Contact
- am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
- The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
- Exhibition History
- Related Articles
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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