Tomie Arai

Rising Waters
1986

Graphic artwork titled "CONCRETE CRISIS: A PADD PROJECT, 1987" featuring stylized red and turquoise figures falling or jumping out of white-framed windows against a black background. Some figures are within the windows, while others are in freefall. The top of the image has a turquoise sky with falling bricks, and the bottom shows a cityscape silhouette with waves, suggesting turmoil. A red vertical stripe on the right contains additional figures. The artists' names and project details are printed at the bottom.
Graphic artwork titled "CONCRETE CRISIS: A PADD PROJECT, 1987" featuring stylized red and turquoise figures falling or jumping out of white-framed windows against a black background. Some figures are within the windows, while others are in freefall. The top of the image has a turquoise sky with falling bricks, and the bottom shows a cityscape silhouette with waves, suggesting turmoil. A red vertical stripe on the right contains additional figures. The artists' names and project details are printed at the bottom.

Not on view

Date
1986

Classification
Prints

Medium
Screenprint

Dimensions
Sheet: 24 5/8 × 19 7/16in. (62.5 × 49.4 cm) Image: 23 5/8 × 9 7/16in. (60 × 24 cm)

Accession number
2006.37.2

Edition
9/50

Publication
Printed by Lower East Side Printshop, Inc. New York; published by PADD [Political Art Documentation/Distribution]

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Print Committee

Rights and reproductions
© artist or artist’s estate

API
artworks/27848

Part of a series:
Concrete Crisis: Urban Images of the 80's
14 works

A conceptual art piece featuring a quote from Lewis Mumford's "The City in History" superimposed over two overlapping circular grayscale images of a coin with the phrase "New York City" and a cityscape. Below the quote and images, there's additional text crediting the "CONCRETE CRISIS: A PADD PROJECT 1987" and signatures at the bottom right corner.
A black and white poster with the title "AFTER A SUCCESSFUL COLONIZATION" at the top and "THE MOTHER SHIP LANDS" at the bottom. The central image features a futuristic, saucer-shaped building descending with a beam of light onto an urban landscape in ruins, where two people are looking up at the structure. The poster includes text on the left side that reads "CONCRETE CRISIS: A RAPID PROJECT 1977" and is signed and dated by the artist at the bottom right.
A vibrant screen print featuring a central figure in red and white stripes against a yellow background with urban imagery and text. The figure appears to be gesturing or speaking, and the surrounding text and cityscape create a dynamic, layered effect. The bottom of the print includes the title "CONCRETE CRISIS: A PADD PROJECT, 1987" and is signed by the artist.
Graphic poster featuring a collection of handguns in white outline against a black background, with the bold yellow text "Comfort?.. in the Streets" dominating the lower half. The poster includes a credit line at the bottom reading "©1986 by Alfred Martinez, CONCRETE CRISIS - A PADD PROJECT, 1987, Printed by the Lower East Side Print Shop, Inc." and is signed "Alfred Martinez."
A graphic artwork featuring a repeated text pattern with words like "POVERTY," "REAGANOMICS," and "THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY" in capital letters at the top. Below, there are three stylized figures in white, black, and blue, resembling a classical sculpture, a person with a head wrap, and a child. The bottom text reads "CONCRETE CRISIS: A PADD PROJECT, 1987," with additional printing and funding credits.
A surreal black and white photo collage of a cityscape with skyscrapers converging towards the center, overlaid with a circular cutout that reveals a red textured border and a dark void at the center.
Graphic print of a figure with prosthetic legs, bleeding from the mouth, with the text "LAST LEG" below.
A graphic artwork featuring a collage of elements including a yellow figure sitting on a red button labeled "LET'S YOU AND HIM FIGHT," a large white hand pointing, and black and white images of urban buildings. Text on the artwork reads "CONCRETE CRISIS - AID PROJECT 1987" and includes words like "REMAIN" and "HUMANE." The artist's signature and the edition number are visible at the bottom.
Illustration of a luxury building, a pink car, a collapsing black building, and a person crouching. Text reads "Concrete Crisis: A PADD Project, 1987."
This image features a black and white photograph of urban high-rise buildings in the background, overlaid with a grid of names in various fonts and orientations. A bold red abstract drawing resembling a house or building facade with a pitched roof and windows dominates the center. Below the drawing, the text "MONUMENT TO THE HOMELESS" is written in capital letters. The artwork is credited as "CONCRETE CRISIS: A PAD/D PROJECT, 1987" at the bottom left, and there is a signature at the bottom right.

Tomie Arai
1 work in the collection

View artist

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.