The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009

© Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos

The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009

Currently not on view

The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009,

2015

Susan Meiselas, born 1948, Baltimore, MD; active New York, NY
2016-41.1-.18
"Molotov Man" is Meiselas’s best-known image. The central picture (framed in white) captures Pablo Barauz, a member of the leftist Sandinista resistance during the Nicaraguan Revolution, in the act of throwing a bomb (made from a Pepsi bottle) at the headquarters of the National Guard. This photograph was one of several Meiselas took of the resistance that day; the strong convergence of action, silhouette, and aggressive energy imbue it with a life of its own, and it emerged as both the iconic image of the revolution and an international symbol of revolt against the Somoza dictatorship. Yet while the postrevolutionary Sandinista government employed Molotov Man as a symbol of strength to garner support for their causes, in the United States it was used conversely, as a symbol of aggression to raise funds to fight the Sandinistas. Meiselas created The Life of an Image: "Molotov Man," 1979–2009 to explore the dynamism of photographic meanings as determined by the relationships among author, context of presentation, and portrayed subject.
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More About This Object

Object Highlight | The Life of an Image: "Molotov Man," 1979–2009

Friends Annual Mary Pitcairn Keating Lecture: Mitra Abbaspour

Information

Title
The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man," 1979–2009
Dates

2015

Maker
Susan Meiselas
Medium
Mixed media installation
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Bagley Wright Fund
Object Number
2016-41.1-.18
Place Made

North America, Nicaragua

Place Depicted

North America, Nicaragua

Place Collected

North America, Nicaragua

Culture
American
Type
photographs, mixed media
Materials
mixed media
Subject
battles, figures (representations), revolutions, men, Nicaraguan, installations

Susan Meiselas Studio, New York, NY;

2016, purchased by Princeton University Art Museum

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