Long associated with the assemblage movement that distinguished Southern California art of the 1960s, Edward Kienholz created works that incorporate social and political commentary. Often shocking in their realism, these sculptures are scathing narratives that confront social hypocrisy. In A Lady Names Zoa, box forms and containers define body parts, making reference to social class and roles. History as a Planter, complete with a wandering Jew plant, alludes to the Holocaust and news headlines connected with the 1961 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. With The Illegal Operation, the artist addresses the controversy over abortion. Created almost a decade before the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, the piece is rooted in Kienholz's personal experience with his then wife, who underwent the procedure when it was still illegal. Kienholz is also closely associated with LACMA's own history. In 1966, LACMA organized a mid-career survey that provoked intense reaction among local politicians, who threatened to shut down the museum. Ultimately the most "offending" work of art Back Seat Dodge '38 was acquired by LACMA through the generosity of the Art Museum Council. The Illegal Operation was recently acquired by the museum through the generosity of numerous supporters. View other works by Edward Kienholz in the museum's collection. Stephanie Barron, Senior Curator, Modern Art, (2008)

The Illegal Operation exemplifies Edward Kienholz’s powerful assemblages, which were often savage indictments of American life. This harrowing sculpture, which directly confronts the subject of abortion, was made nearly a decade before the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure. Although no female body is pictured in the work, the rusted surgical tools, soiled rags, makeshift lighting, and ruptured bag of concrete all allude to the dangerous consequences of abortions performed under desperate, back-alley circumstances.

Kienholz arrived in Los Angeles from his home town of Fairfield, Washington, in 1953, and quickly became a central member of the Southern California art community. In addition to being a pioneer of assemblage art, he directed the Now Gallery from 1956–57 and cofounded the influential Ferus Gallery with Walter Hopps in 1957, which became a locus of the burgeoning Los Angeles art scene. LACMA hosted his first retrospective in 1966.

Wall label, 2021.

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