Alliance, Vija Celmins; Ken Farley; Gemini G.E.L.; Doris Simmelink

Artwork Overview

Vija Celmins, artist
born 1938
Gemini G.E.L., publisher
founded 1966
Ken Farley, printer
Alliance, 1983
Where object was made: Los Angeles, California, United States
Material/technique: aquatint; drypoint; mezzotint; wove paper
Dimensions:
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 126 x 191 mm
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 4 15/16 x 7 1/2 in
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 127 x 179 mm
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 5 x 7 1/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 650 x 490 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 25 9/16 x 19 5/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 32 x 24 in
Credit line: Museum purchase: National Endowment for the Arts, and the Barbara Benton Wescoe Fund
Accession number: 1988.0027
On display: Perkins Central Court

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Images

Label texts

Looking After: Art and Care in Education Across Kansas

The two images create an “alliance” between subjects—an engineer’s draft of a ship and a brilliant, star-speckled night sky. Close looking reveals a blueprint-like drawing of a ship, its angular structure echoing the lines used to connect celestial constellations. These lines are absent in the field of stars in the bottom half of the work, positioning us as active stargazers able to chart our own constellations.

Exhibitions

Deborah J. Wilk, curator
1997
Kristina Walker, curator
Rachel Straughn-Navarro, curator
2026–2027