Description

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the sight of the mourning First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had a profound impact on US history. These two works show how the images of those moments moved between mass media and artistic practice. The wirephoto is evidence of the news photograph being multiplied and quickly circulated around the world to make halftone printing plates. Andy Warhol responded to this mass distribution through the doubling of Mrs. Kennedy’s likeness and the enlargement of the halftone pattern. Whether for visual communication or artistic expression, these images share the emotional charge of the tragedy.