Untitled [GOD]
| Artist | Tyree Guyton (American, b. 1955) |
|---|---|
| Title | Untitled [GOD] |
| Date | 1994–1996 |
| Medium | Black and red ink and watercolor on yellow sticky note |
| Dimensions | Image: 5 × 3 in. (12.7 × 7.6 cm) Sheet: 5 × 3 in. (12.7 × 7.6 cm) |
| Credit Line | Gift from the Private Tyree Guyton and Jenenne Whitfield Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 2017.1 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
A person's face with their mouth wide open has the word "GOD" written all over and around it. A red cross is in the bottom right.
This tiny drawing (the first by Tyree Guyton in our collection) has more in common with folk art and graffiti than with fine art. Describing himself as an “urban environmental artist,” Guyton used Heidelberg Street on Detroit’s East Side as his primary medium. In 1986, disheartened by his neighborhood’s economic and aesthetic decline (as well as the loss of three brothers to street violence), Guyton began painting abandoned houses and empty lots with bright colors and cheerful shapes. Although criticized by some as gaudy, his work ultimately had a positive effect on the people in the community. This sketch references a favorite “Faces of God” motif that Guyton incorporates in his street art and studio projects.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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Cite this page
"Untitled [GOD] | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2017.1