CADY NOLAND | Untitled Xerox Cut-Out (Patty in Church)

a unique object, cut printed paper and staples, on a paper mount, framed, 1989

The Brooklyn Academy of Music Art Sale, New York, 1991

New York, Elizabeth Dee, Every Future Has a Price: 30 Years After Infotainment, October - December 2016

This work is in generally very good condition. As is typical of the artist's working method, there are a few tack holes on the paper mount and the cut printed paper. It is rippled in a few places. The staple at the lower right has rusted and there is faint attendant discoloration on the cut printed paper. The paper mount is soiled and there is some dampstaining - mainly in the upper right quadrant. There are a few handling creases and fingerprints overall. The paper mount is hinged to a modern mount so the reverse cannot be fully inspected.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

‘Violence used to be part of life in America and had a positive reputation.’ (“Cady Noland,” Interview with Michele Cone, Journal of Contemporary Art, vol. 3 no. 2, 1990) In February 1974, Patricia (Patty) Hearst, the 19-year-old granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley by members of a left-wing revolutionary group, the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). Two months later, Hearst publicly announced that she had joined the SLA. A photograph of her holding a semi-automatic rifle during a bank robbery in San Francisco was subsequently published on the cover of Newsweek. 

In the late 1980s, Cady Noland began using press photographs to explore a dark side of American culture: the transformation of criminals into celebrities through mass media and a fascination with violence. For the present work, Noland reproduced a frequently published photograph of a young Patty Hearst at church. She used photocopied paper to retain the mass-produced feel of newsprint and mimicked newspaper layout by stapling it to a backing paper.

Noland often juxtaposed this image with the Newsweek image of Hearst as a revolutionary in large silkscreens mounted to aluminum. Examples of these silkscreens exist in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.