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Object Timeline

2000

  • Work on this object began.

2014

2015

2025

  • You found it!

Poster, Jonathan Jones: untitled (the tyranny of distance)

This is a Poster. It was designed by Mark Gowing and made for (as the client) Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation. It is dated 2008 and we acquired it in 2014. Its medium is screenprint. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

This poster was designed to advertise a solo exhibition of the work of Jonathan Jones, a Sydney-based Aboriginal artist who is from the Kamilaroi/Wiradjuri nations located in South Eastern Australia. His work in sculpture and installation features fluorescent tubes and incandescent bulbs, often arranged in patterns that have their origins in the Kamilaroi/Wiradjuri traditions. His exhibition at Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, “Untitled (the tyranny of distance)” showcased a piece with fluorescent lights enclosed in blue tarpaulin. For his design, Gowing adopted the colors, light and shade of Jones’ artwork and created a typeface that draws on the angular lines of the fluorescent tubes, while referencing early experiments in Soviet Constructivist typography.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled The Tyranny of Distance.

This object was donated by Mark Gowing. It is credited Gift of Mark Gowing.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 84 × 51.6 cm (33 1/16 × 20 5/16 in.)

Cite this object as

Poster, Jonathan Jones: untitled (the tyranny of distance); Designed by Mark Gowing (Australian, b. 1970); Client: Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation; Australia; screenprint; H x W: 84 × 51.6 cm (33 1/16 × 20 5/16 in.); Gift of Mark Gowing; 2014-32-2

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition How Posters Work.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/68743461/ |title=Poster, Jonathan Jones: untitled (the tyranny of distance) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=10 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>