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Portfolios%3D%22609%22%20and%20Period%3D%22%22%20and%20Sort_Artist%3D%22Simpson,%20Lorna%22
Photograph
Untitled (the failure of Sylvester)
Lorna Simpson, 1960 -
Simpson, Lorna
United States
1960
Female
61 x 41 1/8 x 1 3/4 in. (154.9 x 104.5 x 4.4 cm)
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overall framed size
frame
Gelatin silver print
Gelatin silver print
2001
2001
2001
Images of Black People
Photograph
Lorna Simpson's art defies easy explanation. Inspired by diverse sources, it contains cinematic allusions, references to popular culture, as well as personal narrative. It is intentionally complex and ambiguous. Simpson's goal is to make the viewer think and reflect - about race, about class, about gender.
Untitled (the failure of Sylvester) seems at first glance to be a random grouping of words and images. A closer look reveals that the photographs depict a woman whose face we never quite see - in four of the images, her face is deliberately obscured. Does this suggest that the African-American woman is not actually seen, and is invisible in American culture?
What is the meaning of the text? Like the images, the texts are allusions to mainstream perceptions of the African-American. The Failure of Sylvester is the title of a painting by the Ashcan artist Robert Henri. Sylvester, a young African-American and the artist's model for the painting, has fallen asleep - has 'failed' as a model.
[Gallery label text, 2004]
Lorna Simpson
2003.4
item
Memorial Art Gallery
4/30/2003
2003.4SL1
slide
2 x 2
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2003.4DI2
digital image
full
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2003.4TR1
transparency
full
4 x 5
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