Will Sales

Death of a Neighborhood
1989

A typed poem titled "DEATH OF A NEIGHBORHOOD" by W.S., discussing urban decay and hope for rebirth, on a black background.
A typed poem titled "DEATH OF A NEIGHBORHOOD" by W.S., discussing urban decay and hope for rebirth, on a black background.

Not on view

Date
1989

Classification
Prints

Medium
Screeprint

Dimensions
Sheet: 23 1/16 × 19 1/16in. (58.6 × 48.4 cm) Image: 23 1/16 × 19 1/16in. (58.6 × 48.4 cm)

Accession number
2016.257.9

Publication
Printed by Andrew Castrucci; printed by Lower East Side Printshop, Inc. New York

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Paul Castrucci

Rights and reproductions
© artist or artist’s estate

API
artworks/56132

Part of a series:
Your House is Mine
13 works

This image features a graphic artwork with a large, stylized clock face taking up the right side, with the numbers 10, 11, and 12 visible. Inside the clock, there's a dark, smudged area with a faint silhouette of a figure. Extending from the center of the clock are the arms of a cross, with human figures positioned as if they are being crucified on the minute and hour hands. The left side of the image contains a block of text with a narrative that starts with "BEFORE THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED GOD-IN THE BEGINNING GOD ATE THE GHETTOS & SLUMS AND..." and continues in a similar provocative style. The bottom of the image credits "MIGUEL PINERO" and "BULLET." The background is red at the top, transitioning to white where the text is placed.
A childlike drawing in blue on a white background with red-orange text annotations. The drawing depicts a simplistic figure with a round head, stick limbs, and a torso adorned with hearts. Words like "By Betsy," "dirt," "chickenpox," "pimples," "knife," and "orgy of needles" are scrawled across the image. The bottom text reads "DRAWING BY 8 YEAR OLD - LOWER EAST SIDE - N.Y.C. - U.S.A." indicating the artist's age and location.
A typed poem titled "DEATH OF A NEIGHBORHOOD" by W.S., discussing urban decay and hope for rebirth, on a black background.
A vibrant political poster featuring a large green arm with a dollar bill pattern and the phrase "DEMOCRACY AT WORK" extending from the top right corner towards the center against a yellow and red sunburst background. The center of the sunburst is a red and green swastika with the word "DOLLAR" on it. Below the arm, there are several figures in distress surrounded by words like "AIDS," "HOMELESSNESS," "RACISM," "SEXISM," "DRUGS," and other social issues. The bottom of the image has the word "KILLER COPS" in bold red letters. The artwork has a strong graphic style with a limited color palette, reminiscent of propaganda posters.
A graphic poster featuring a large Puerto Rican flag with a white star on a blue triangle, and red and white stripes. Overlaid on the flag is a black and white photograph of a building's facade. Below the image, text in Spanish reads "¿DONDE ESTA MI CASA, DONDE ESTA MI PAIS, DONDE VAMOS?" which translates to "Where is my house, where is my country, where are we going?" The bottom of the poster includes the text "PRINTED AT THE LOWER EAST SIDE PRINTSHOP" and a small logo with the word "BULLET".
A graphic poster with a bold red background featuring the large text "Enjoy AZT" in a style reminiscent of a popular soft drink logo. Below, critical commentary questions the U.S. government's spending on AIDS drug research, the effectiveness of AZT, and the pharmaceutical industry's profits, ending with the provocative question "IS THIS HEALTH CARE OR WEALTH CARE?" in white block letters.
A bright orange sign with bold black text that reads "HOMELESSNESS AT WORK," with the word "HOMELESSNESS" broken into two lines. The sign has a black border and is reminiscent of a caution or warning sign. The bottom right corner features the word "BULLET" in small print.
Yellow sign with black stencil art of a running child and text "SLOWDOWN CHILDREN GROWING."
Stencil graffiti artwork featuring the text "S.O.S. TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK" in bold, capitalized letters with the "S" in "S.O.S." and the "O" stylized as dollar signs. The text is in red and black against a white background, and there's a small signature or tag that reads "BULLET" in the bottom right corner.
A graphic poster with the phrase "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST?" in bold red letters, superimposed on a mirrored image of a human chest X-ray. The words are arranged vertically with a red arrow pointing upwards between "SURVIVAL" and "OF THE," and another arrow pointing downwards between "OF THE" and "FITTEST?". The background is grainy, and the poster has a rough, textured appearance.

Will Sales
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.