Kiki SmithAmerican, 1954Banshee Pearls
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Banshee Pearls is Smith's second lithographic work. Each of the twelve prints is composed of several photographic states of Smith's face that have been processed, altered, and recombined. Some have been rephotocopied until the subtleties of shadow are transformed into crude masks; others have been blown up beyond recognition. The prints, although created by photo-mechanical means, are intensely personal; they hark back to traditions based on mythic ritual in which each act of repetition is a new statement of respect and creation. In their repeated and tattered quality, the faces of Smith's prints become talismanic. She has pushed the snapshot into the discomforting realm of the relic.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1992.11.1-12
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
