art.wikisort.org - Painting

Snake is an artwork by Australian artist Sir Sidney Nolan. Created between 1970 and 1972, it consists of 1,620 panels arranged so that the images on each panel form a larger image of a snake.[1] It is part of the collection of the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Australia.[1]

Snake
Artist	Sidney Nolan
Year	1970–72
Medium	Ink, dye, and wax crayon on card
Dimensions	9.14 m × 45.72 m (30.0 ft × 150.0 ft)
Location	Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Nolan is believed to have created the work after "he saw a mural in a Beijing palace that moved him to create an Australian version, inspired by the desert in springtime"[2]

Nolan developed a gestural language for Snake in the same way that most artists work. He composed and executed a little picture, influenced, as we all know, by aboriginals and their art, and New Guineans, and their snake dances. He then painted similar scenes with a quicker hand and fewer gestures, and he repeated this thousands of times, till the paintings were made by muscle memory.

— David Walsh, [1]

David Walsh, MONA's owner, purchased the work in 2005 for AUD$2m.[3] Walsh modified his initial design for MONA to make space for the work.[2] Before its installation there, Snake was shown in England and Ireland.[3]

References

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