Art Student

Michael E. Ott, artist

1945–1996

Art Student, late 1900s

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: color lithograph

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 302 x 203 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 11 7/8 x 8 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 385 x 325 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 15 3/16 x 12 13/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in

Credit line: Gift of Jim Sleeper

Accession number: 2010.0160

Not on display

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Ott cleverly combines a wide range of art historical styles and subjects in his rendering of a t-shirt, which is only one of many he created during his lifetime. Inspired by both the vivid realism of American still life painters and Pop Art’s slick presentation of consumer goods, Ott transforms this common object into a humorous personification of its wearer. In Art Student, Ott overtly references the idolization of Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh by emulating the artist’s expressive linework and characteristic color palette of blues and yellows. van Gogh’s signature appears on the shirt like a brand name, not unlike the Coors beer font that frames the figure’s just visible silhouette. Through clothing, Ott creates a stereotypical portrait of a young art student, an impression likely formed during his long tenure as a faculty member in the KU Art Department from 1969 until his death in 1996.