War Room (Wally Hedrick)

The War Room (1967/68–2002), by Wally Hedrick (1928–2003), consists of eight canvases approximately 5 feet wide and 11 feet tall, all painted a deep black.

These canvases are bolted together to create a freestanding cubic room that could be entered via a small door in one of the canvases, thus creating an architectural painting.

The viewer is left to consider the encompassing darkness and contemplate the vacuity that this space creates.

Hedrick refused to ignore the war and instead created a work of cultural and political significance.

[1] The War Room is a significant item of Bay Area art history.