School Nurse

Margo Kren

born 1939

School Nurse, 1982

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: lithograph; wove paper

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 192 x 238 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 357 x 286 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 7 9/16 x 9 3/8 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 1/16 x 11 1/4 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 x 19 in

Credit line: Gift of the artist

Accession number: 1989.0004.08

Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body

If Olga Bing’s portfolio hanging above depicts nurses as compassionate, caring, and comforting healers, Margo Kren’s lithograph evokes fear and apprehension. Created at the Lawrence Lithography Workshop as part of a series exploring Kren’s foundational childhood memories, this print depicts her school nurse, who she describes as one of “the most formidable figures” of her childhood. Kren recalls feeling threatened, exposed, and vulnerable as she lined up to receive regular vaccinations—sentiments communicated here in part through her naked body. The uneven edges of the printed image and details like the trailing electrical cord hint at nearby but inaccessible escapes and places of refuge.

Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body

Exhibition Label: "Sum of the Parts: Recent Works on Paper," Jun-2001, Stephen Goddard In Dreams and Memories, Kren sets down a series of autobiographical snapshots of special moments. The subjects range from reading the Sunday paper with her husband, the late George Kren, professor at Kansas State University, to the sensuous recollection of having her hair combed out as a child by other women in the family. The prints are displayed in the order that Kren intended. She has given them the following titles: Dreams and Memories (title page) Awakening Sunday Morning Newspapers Pool of Blind Swimmers Scene from Childhood Scared in the Night The Dance School Nurse Hair Growth Street Scene Family Dinner Bath Disnaturing Garden Snake Eyes Archive Label 2003 (added information): Margo Kren received her M.F.A. at the University of Iowa in 1979. She is professor of drawing, design, and painting at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. The portfolio Dreams and Memories was printed at the Lawrence lithography Workshop.