A work made of color waterless lithograph in black, yellow, red, and violet on felt.

Untitled

Lorna Simpson (b. 1960)

Year
1995
Medium
Color waterless lithograph in black, yellow, red, and violet on felt
Painted in
United States
Seen at
Art Institute of Chicago

Two diagonally paired bodies in the foreground of each scene are counterbalanced by a tree in the background. The left image, depicting two white women in a lush, idyllic setting, is paired with a militaristic scene in which white men in uniforms execute two black men before a crowd of onlookers. Simpson typically conjoins text and image in her work; however, the absence of text in this piece-perhaps signifying an unfinished work-forces the viewer to establish formal and narrative relationships. The juxtaposition of these images speaks to the manner in which gender, race, sexuality, and authority have been historically constructed, represented, and exercised.