March
Artist
Jenny Scobel
(American, born 1955)
Date2003
Mediumoil, graphite, and wax on gessoed panel
Dimensionspanel: 71 x 57 cm (27 15/16 x 22 7/16 in.)
ClassificationsDrawings
Credit LineSarah C. Garver Fund
Object number2005.165
Label TextJenny Scobel’s March begs us to ask who this mysterious, freckled-face, young woman might be and how that innocent face could belong to such a glamorously dressed body (her strapless gown and long white gloves reminiscent of a 1960s Jackie Kennedy fashion statement). Is she trapped by the expectations of womanhood? Does the improbable cartoon streetscape behind with its ominous sky offer an escape or spell looming danger? Scobel offers us no definitive narrative, no biographical truth; in fact, she has reused this intriguing face (from a photo found in a vintage magazine) and meticulously wed it to different torsos and backgrounds, exploring ways in which identities are constructed. Together the heightened realism and classic portrait formality of the figure with the flat stylized background (culled from 1930s-'40s cartoons) encourage a sense of tension and estrangement.ProvenanceThomas Erben Gallery, New YorkOn View
Not on view
