Black Monolith II (For Ralph Ellison)
1994
Jack Whitten
American, 1939-2018
Contemporary Art
Black Monolith II is part of a series that pays tribute to influential Black figures in simplified forms inspired by stelae, or commemorative stone monuments, from ancient Crete. Jack Whitten created this version, dedicated to the novelist and literary critic Ralph Ellison, the year of the author’s death. The silhouette-like shadow draws parallels with Ellison’s best-known work, Invisible Man, which Whitten described as portraying “the exact dimensions of being Black in America.”
- Maker/Artist
- Whitten, Jack
- Classification
- Painting
- Formatted Medium
- Acrylic, molasses, copper, salt, coal, ash, chocolate, onion, herbs, rust, eggshell, razor blade on canvas
- Medium
- acrylic, molasses, copper, salt, coal, ash, chocolate, onion, herbs, rust, eggshell, razor, blade, canvas
- Dimensions
- 58 x 52 in. (147.3 x 132.1 cm)
- Departments
- Contemporary Art
- Accession Number
- 2014.65
- Credit Line
- William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund
- Exhibitions
- I See Myself in You: Selections from the Collection, The Legacy of Lynching: Confronting Racial Terror in America, The Slipstream: Reflection, Resilience, and Resistance in the Art of Our Time
- Rights Statement
- © artist or artist's estate
- Museum Location
- This item is not on view
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