MoMa-Art Gallery Modified Assignment

 Lorna Simpson 

Lorna Simpson describes 1957-2009 as “a project that happened kind of by accident." She came across a couple of black-and-white photographs of a young black woman posing alluringly. As it turned out, these were part of a much larger album of photographs, featuring this woman, and, occasionally, a young black man, in attractively staged poses. The sellers offered the entire album to Simpson. Struck by the images, though not yet sure what to do with them, she bought it. Taken in 1957, in modest domestic and outdoor settings, most of them appeared to be inspired by the pin-up, mass-produced images of seductively posed actresses and models, widely circulated in the 1940s and 50s. But the identities of the photographer, the woman, and the man were unknown. Ultimately, Simpson decided to restage these images. Using herself as her model, she mimicked the settings, clothing, hairstyles, and poses of both the woman and the man and photographed herself using black-and-white film. She then paired her own photographs with the originals for a total of 307 individually framed images and has displayed them together in various arrangements. 

Robert Gober 

Since the 1970s Robert Gober has been exploring sexuality, religion, and politics in meticulously handcrafted work. Early in his career The New York Times described his sculptures as “minimal forms with maximum content.” While Gober’s work addresses universal themes of loss and longing, his personal experiences deeply inform his art, charging each work with an acute sense of intimacy. the advertisement, too, is a product of manipulation: He photographed himself as a bride, wearing a flowing, white gown and a delicate veil. He once said about the wedding dress: “There’s no comparable costume for a man that symbolizes this moment … we’ve only created this outfit for women.” 

I chose these two artists and their work because Simpson because she uses her own photos and experiences as a black woman to inspire her work. She is most well known for her powerful artworks that combine photographs with words. In her works she questions and challenges narrow and conventional ideas about women, culture and race. She makes those who were forgotten, being made important and remembered, such as gays or women in any race. Robert Gober was another inspiring artist to me because it was one of his quotes that got my attention, "it was about the challenge of making a sculpture about that moment where the sock doesn't meet the pants and you see the flesh and the hair of the person."

I took a picture of myself in black and white to capture that no matter what color or race I am, I should be just as important as any other race. People treat me differently or hate my kind of race because of all of the political/social issues that went on throughout history. But I continue to remind myself everyday that I am no different from everyone else, and I shouldn't let other treat me different because of my race.