Counting
Artist
Lorna Simpson
(American, born 1960)
Date1991
Mediumscreenprint and photogravure on white Somerset Satin wove paper
Dimensionssheet: 187.3 x 96.5 cm (73 3/4 x 38 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineGift of Sheila Carroll and Mark Lynch
Object number1994.221
Label TextDrawing upon her experience as an African-American woman and as a documentary photographer, Lorna Simpson structures her works to highlight how deeply embedded stereotypes are in both visual images and the language of our daily lives. Counting is composed of three vertically stacked images adjacent to chilling statistics that relate to labor, and in turn, allude to slavery: hours reference work shifts; a South Carolina smokehouse built 310 years ago with 1575 bricks was once used as slave quarters; time and identity are woven into an intricately coiled braid. The female figure is depicted as anonymous parts rather than as a whole. By strategically obscuring identity, Simpson raises questions about it. The ambiguity is intentional, too. Simpson leaves the work’s meaning open to each of our interpretations, assumptions, or prejudices.
"Us Them We": Simpson's works highlight how deeply embedded stereotypes are in the visual language of daily life. Counting is composed of three juxtaposed and vertically stacked images adjacent to chilling statistics that relate to labor, and in turn, allude to slavery. For example, hours reference work shifts while “310 years ago” and “1575 bricks” refer to a South Carolina smokehouse that was once used as the quarters for enslaved people. Importantly, the female figure is fragmented and faceless. Using this visual strategy, Simpson raises questions about identity by obscuring aspects of it. She leaves the work’s meaning open to each of our interpretations, assumptions, or prejudices.ProvenanceBrooke Alexander Editions, NY; Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston; Sheila Carroll and Mark Lynch, Worcester, MA.On View
Not on view