Suzanne Jackson Wind and Water 1975

  • MoMA, Floor 3, 3 East The Robert B. Menschel Galleries

At college in San Francisco, Jackson encountered the 1960s counterculture, whose social, ecological, and artistic movements often find mystical expression in her work. These two panels conjure the elements—wind and water—that give life and bring change. Commissioned by Sonny Bono, of the musical duo Sonny and Cher, the work reflects the psychedelic influences of the time. Dreamlike landscapes and allegorical figures abound in Jackson’s paintings, which are as steeped in the spiritual symbolism of ’70s Afrocentrism as they are in the natural world of her Alaskan childhood. “If . . . the symbols reflect my culture, my upbringing, my environment, and especially my femininity,” Jackson says, that is simply in everything of beauty and value that I want to do.”

Gallery label from 2022
Medium
Acrylic and pencil on canvas, two panels
Dimensions
Each panel: 97 × 60" (246.4 × 152.4 cm)
Credit
Acquired through the generosity of The Modern Women’s Fund, Alice and Tom Tisch, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis, Michael S. Ovitz, Ronnie F. Heyman, and Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida
Object number
255.2021.a-b
Copyright
© 20YY Suzanne Jackson. Courtesy of the Artist and Ortuzar Projects, New York.
Department
Painting and Sculpture
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