2001.69.1

This is a soft ground etching with hand-coloring and photoetching printed in red and black. It depicts every letter of the alphabet and has an anti-war themed word for each letter. For example, A: Atomic, B: bomb, C: combat.... for each of the 26 letters in the alphabet. From Kathan Brown at Crown point press: This print resembles a "teaching aid" often seen in elementary schools. The alphabet is in English and Japanese. The illustrations, done in "Dick and Jane" schoolbook style, are by professional illustrator Tony Morse. Chris Burden interviewed several illustrators to find one whose style would fit the work. Burden worked closely with the illustrator, developing each word picture, suggesting changes, colors, etc., until the concept was fully realized. Tony Morse then hand colored each etching after printing.

Technical data on the print: Printed from a copper plate, the edges of the paper are torn. The ink colors are black and cadmium red light. The date and method of plate cancellation: March 1981. A corner was cut off each plate.