Set of twenty-one lithographs and seventeen lithographed texts on felt
Not on view
Among the subjects of Simpson's art is the experience of African American women in contemporary American society, a topic that encompasses issues of race and gender. Since 1990 African American hairstyles, which, over the centuries, have taken on social and political implications, have been some of her motifs. Depicted here is a diverse group of wigs in an orderly presentation that suggests a lineup of scientific specimens. Many types of styles are represented, from the short, fuzzy-textured Afro at the upper left to a wig of long, silky blond hair near the upper right. Text panels interspersed among the wigs record Simpson's wide-ranging commentary on their use by women, entertainers, and transvestites. The wig's potential as an instrument for conformity, metamorphosis, and concealment is thereby underscored.
Simpson has used the traditional format of the print portfolio in which a sequence of images produces a cumulative, narrative effect. The images have a tactile, suggestive quality as they isolate hair as an important aspect of self-image that affects a deeper sense of overall reality.
The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, revised 2004, originally published 1999, p. 334.
Gallery label from 2022
To make this work, Simpson photographed a variety of wigs—from long braids to waves to moustaches—that she had purchased at Fulton Mall in Brooklyn. She then lithographed the images on felt and incorporated small text panels that relate historical accounts and anecdotes ranging in topic from slavery to drag. As the artist explained: “The wearer of the wigs can either become someone else or become closer to the person that one sees oneself to be . . . embracing or cutting across a particular stereotype, or, in terms of gender, blurring the lines between masculinity and femininity.”
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Lorna Simpson
American, born 1960 37 works onlineIn the late 1980s, Lorna Simpson burst onto the art scene with photographs of unidentified Black figures accompanied by text.
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