SECRETARY OF DEFENSE COBALT GREEN WHITE, 2006
Oil on linen
33 x 25.5 x 1.5 in.

Location: South Hall

This is the cover page of a Defense Department memo requesting authorization for interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to use various new methods, including forcing prisoners to stand for prolonged periods. At the bottom of the page is the signature of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, approving the request, as well as a now-famous quip. Rumsfeld, known for working at an elevated standing desk rather than sitting at a normal desk, writes: “I stand for 8–10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to 4 hours?”

The original source document for this work can be found here.