- Created by
- Stout, Renée, American, born 1958
- Subject of
- Miles Davis, American, 1926 - 1991
- Date
- 2010
- Medium
- wood, metal, glass
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 19 × 11 × 2 7/8 in. (48.3 × 27.9 × 7.3 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
- The "cross" (.3) element of an installation artwork. This cross is made from three (3) carved and hand worked segments of wood. One (1) vertical piece of wood forms the stipe. The vertical segment is secured with metal screws and wood pegs inside a crossbeam made from two (2) horizontal pieces of wood. A thick metal wire attaches to the ends of both the left and right arms of the cross, forming an arc that curves behind the top of the stipe. A cracked mirror is affixed at the upper center of the stipe. At the proper-right side of the stipe, to the side of the mirror, is a metal plate with three (3) pegs inserted inside. The pegs have a similar appearance to tuning pegs used on string instruments.
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Art
- Hoodoo
- Religion
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2013.148.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Renée Stout
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




