Stan Washburn
(American,
b. 1943)
Sacred Cow, from the series A Moral Alphabet of Vice and Folly
Date:
1984
Medium:
Etching
Object Dimensions:
16 1/4 x 14 3/4 in. (41.28 x 37.47 cm)
Credit Line:
Gift of the artist, 2002.008.01.20
Photo Credit:
Jueqian Fang
A Sacred Cow was so venerated that nobody dared milk her. This was very painful for the cow. Everyone felt it keenly, but clergy and laity were helpless alike – the beast did not respond to spiritual consolation, and the obvious secular measures savored of irreligion.
Moral: For the pious, nothing is simple.