Black Monolith II (For Ralph Ellison)
Jack Whitten
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.”
MEDIUM
Acrylic, molasses, copper, salt, coal, ash, chocolate, onion, herbs, rust, eggshell, razor blade on canvas
DATES
1994
DIMENSIONS
58 x 52 in. (147.3 x 132.1 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Proper right side of canvas/stretcher: "Black Monolith II: For R.W. Ellison April 1994 J. Whitten"
COLLECTIONS
Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
2014.65
CREDIT LINE
William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Jack Whitten (American, 1939-2018). Black Monolith II (For Ralph Ellison), 1994. Acrylic, molasses, copper, salt, coal, ash, chocolate, onion, herbs, rust, eggshell, razor blade on canvas, 58 x 52 in. (147.3 x 132.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2014.65. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Image Courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates, CUR.2014.65_Alexander_Gray_Associates_photograph.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, CUR.2014.65_Alexander_Gray_Associates_photograph.jpg. Image Courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates, 2014
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
© Jack Whitten
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