Printed Matter is proud to present Abraham Lincoln, a new fundraising edition by Rachel Harrison. Comprised of entirely Googled images of Abraham Lincoln, the book shows our sixteenth president sequentially turning his infamous profile from right to left. Harrison's hefty collection of images encapsulates the obscurities of our digital age, a parade of absurd representations attesting to the over-commodification of American history. Among the more traditional portrait-style depictions of Lincoln, are peculiar appropriations– a Lincoln toe ring, a Lincoln cake, a Lincoln egg, a Lincoln coffee mug, a Lincoln emoticon, a Lincoln pillow, a Lincoln hulk. It begs the question, what prompts us to venerate our cultural heroes in such ways? Transposing the image of a socio-political icon into kitsch formats, assimilating his recognizable physiognomy into sarcastic patriotic gestures. The images are all presented as they were found online, their formats untampered with and recontextualized in print.

Printed Matter, 2011
Softcover, 268 pp.
25.5 x 20.5 cm