Created by
Stout, Renée, American, born 1958
Subject of
Miles Davis, American, 1926 - 1991
Date
2010
Medium
dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, wood, glass
Dimensions
H x W x D: 18 1/2 × 13 × 1 1/4 in. (47 × 33 × 3.2 cm)
Caption
Renée Stout is best known for her multifaceted approach to art, making use of a variety of materials and media. Her innovative incorporation of storytelling, use of the alter ego, investigation into West African spiritual traditions, and allusions to popular culture form a type of environment that is both real and imaginary. Her work evokes personal as well as collective cultural memory.
The title and objects in Stout’s installation conjure phrases such as black magic, black as midnight, black as tar, and black is beautiful, and reference themes related to gender, strength, power, nourishment, poison, and creation. They also play on Miles Davis’s innovative and influential jazz album Bitches Brew, whose cover art featured similar diametrically linked themes such as light/dark, good/evil, white/black, male/female, and earth/heaven.
Description
A framed portrait element (.2) of an installation artwork. The portrait is a bust view of a woman wearing a blue dress with two (2) white buttons on the front. The woman's dark brown hair is styled in a side-parted bob, and she is wearing gold hoop earrings and lipstick. She is looking towards the proper right. The picture is in a wood frame, glazed with glass curved in a slight convex.
Classification
Visual Arts
Type
assemblages (sculpture)
portraits
Topic
African diaspora
Art
Hoodoo
Religion
Women
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2013.148.2
Restrictions & Rights
© Renée Stout
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd59aa812a1-534c-4159-8c80-5be32772a2fe

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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