William Burroughs

Lust
1991

A vibrant abstract artwork featuring a bold black serpentine shape that meanders vertically down the canvas, set against a textured background of vivid reds and purples with splashes of white. The background also contains scattered, ghostly impressions of skeletal figures and horses, creating a dynamic and somewhat chaotic visual effect.

Not on view

Date
1991

Classification
Prints

Medium
Woodcut and screenprint

Dimensions
Sheet: 45 × 31in. (114.3 × 78.7 cm)

Accession number
2005.120.10

Edition
62/90

Publication
Printed by Durham Press, Inc.; published by Lococo-Mulder

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Transfer, from the Frances Mulhall Achilles Library, Special Collections, Whitney Museum of American Art

Rights and reproductions
© artist or artist’s estate

API
artworks/38234

Part of a series:
The Seven Deadly Sins
14 works

An image of a page with text discussing the Seven Deadly Sins, with the text appearing to be typewritten in black ink on a white background. The page has a large, decorative initial "A" at the beginning of the text. There are faint blue watercolor-like designs at the bottom of the page, which do not obscure the text.

Abstract artwork with a chaotic overlay of purple lines and scratches on a dark background, creating a textured appearance with some areas of white showing through.

An abstract artwork with a textured background in earthy tones, overlaid with bold, chaotic brush strokes in black, purple, green, and red, creating a sense of dynamic movement and raw emotion.

A digital artwork featuring an abstract rendition of a face with distorted features in black, white, and red on a textured green background. The image has a graffiti-like, urban aesthetic with elements that appear to be smeared or sprayed on.

Abstract artwork featuring a central skull-like figure in black and white, surrounded by chaotic red and gold brush strokes on a textured brown background.

An image of a page with stylized, handwritten text that reads: "Gluttony of the Sweets, the Sugars, the Deadly Apples, melting in the mouth, transmuting teeth and gristle and bone into a toothsome sweetmeat. One taste, and the deadly process is activated: digestive juices reconcentrate and churn, eating the body away, leaving the pearly cream testicles, the crispy penis that yields with sweet reluctant delay and the quintessence of delight residing in the wire of the Adam's Apple dissolves to unseat the living brain, quivering like a great oyster, from the softened skull . . . oh! oh! La la la . . . slurp . . . bluh . . ." Below the text, there is a faint, intricate line drawing that appears to be an abstract or chaotic scene, difficult to discern in detail.

A close-up of a printed page with distorted and nonsensical text, featuring a variety of fonts and sizes, giving the impression of a corrupted or glitched document. The text is unreadable and seems to be randomly generated, with some words resembling English while others are completely fabricated. The background of the paper has a textured appearance, adding to the overall chaotic and disorganized aesthetic of the image.

Abstract artwork featuring a dynamic interplay of purple and gold brush strokes with a textured appearance, creating a sense of movement and depth.

A faded image of a text passage with a purple tint, featuring a mix of legible and distorted English words, creating an eerie or mysterious atmosphere. Decorative symbols separate sections of the text, and the background has a subtle, chaotic pattern that resembles intertwined branches or veins.

William Burroughs
14 works in the collection

View artist

William Burroughs

Lust 1991

William Burroughs 14 works in the collection

Lust
1991

William Burroughs
14 works in the collection