Wit, Humor, & Satire

What makes a joke funny? What makes a pun witty? What makes a political cartoon biting? Wit, humor, and satire have been deployed in the visual arts across time and cultures, as evidenced in the works presented in this exhibition. Prints, paintings, sculpture, photography, and more provide examples of how humor, wit, and satire function as tools to make us laugh, shine a light on society and human behaviors, and serve as mechanisms for survival. Though wit, humor, and satire take form across the arts, including literature, film, and music, they are also valued as complex approaches to making images.This book is a companion volume to the exhibition Wit, Humor, and Satire, an exhibition curated by Albuquerque Museum with works from the museum's collection.