Scissors
Artist
John O'Reilly
(American, 1930–2021)
Date2016
Mediumcollage of found prints with ink and crayon, paper, and graphite mounted to board
Dimensionsimage: 44 × 36 cm (17 5/16 × 14 3/16 in.)
sheet: 51 × 41 cm (20 1/16 × 16 1/8 in.)
frame: 54.3 × 43.8 cm (21 3/8 × 17 1/4 in.)
sheet: 51 × 41 cm (20 1/16 × 16 1/8 in.)
frame: 54.3 × 43.8 cm (21 3/8 × 17 1/4 in.)
ClassificationsCollages / Assemblages
Credit LineSarah C. Garver Fund
Object number2018.11
Descriptionframe: blonde woodLabel TextScissors presents multiple facial features combined into a single likeness. Juxaposing elements serve as ametaphor for the co-existing identies that exist within each individual. Here, a cartoon ape, swathed in pink, is constrasted with the outline of a classical Greek profile. O’Reilly’s careful profile alignment affirms his efforts at a united identity, yet the disparity of the noses deconstructs the cohesiveness of the faces—and the psychological states of the figures as well. For O'Reilly, these intersections reveal the internal conflict of multiple personalities at battle, for example, that of a child and adult.
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