Artwork Description
Assassination Silver Silkscreen Print by Dave Kinsey Hand-Pulled 4-Color on Off White Archival Fine Art Paper Limited Edition Pop Street Art Artwork.
2007 Signed & Numbered Limited Edition of 150 Artwork Size 18x24 Silkscreen Print by Dave Kinsey based on Auguste Rodin's The Thinker
"I created this piece in 2007, which is a commentary on the slow degradation of the education system in the United States—an assassination of the educational nourishment of the people and our society. This piece references Rodin’s “The Thinker” sculpture whose pose is based on deep thought and contemplation. Our schools, universities, and so forth are catalysts to greater change and progress and we as humans need to protect this at all costs." -Dave Kinsey, Two Thousand & Twenty-Three
Assassination Silver Silkscreen Print by Dave Kinsey
Assassination Silver is a 2007 silkscreen print by Dave Kinsey, hand-pulled in four colors on off-white archival fine art paper. Measuring 18 x 24 inches, this work was released as a signed and numbered limited edition of 150. Drawing directly from Auguste Rodin’s iconic sculpture The Thinker, Kinsey reinterprets the classical pose through a contemporary Pop Street Art lens, transforming a symbol of contemplation into a stark political and cultural statement.
Education, Violence, and the Erosion of Thought
The composition presents The Thinker in a somber, high-contrast palette dominated by black, gray, and silver tones, punctuated by a thin, visceral streak of red running from the figure’s head. This single, deliberate accent functions as both a wound and a warning. Kinsey frames the act not as physical violence, but as an ideological one: the “assassination” of education, critical thinking, and intellectual nourishment. The rough textures and distressed background amplify the sense of decay, suggesting systems under strain and values being quietly dismantled rather than overtly destroyed.
Conceptual Depth and Cultural Relevance
Kinsey has stated that Assassination Silver is a commentary on the slow degradation of the American education system, positioning schools and universities as essential catalysts for societal progress that must be protected at all costs. By referencing Rodin’s The Thinker, a universal emblem of reason and reflection, Kinsey underscores what is at stake when education is neglected or undermined. The print stands as a powerful intersection of classical art history and modern street-informed critique, making it a significant and enduring work within Kinsey’s oeuvre and the broader conversation around culture, power, and intellectual freedom.
