- Created by
- Yanko, Kennedy, American, born 1988
- Subject of
- Clifton, Lucille, American, 1936 - 2010
- Date
- 2023
- Medium
- copper and latex paint with steel and metal
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 77 × 27 × 17 in. (195.6 × 68.6 × 43.2 cm)
- Description
- An abstract, floating, wall sculpture titled, What did I see to be except myself?, by Kennedy Yanko. The piece is comprised primarily of a found copper sheet and a latex-based paint skin. The copper sheet has a green patina on one side and is partially oxidized to a dark brown on the other. It has been folded, twisted, and crumpled roughly into a funnel shape that exposes the green patina mostly near the top, areas of oxidation near the middle and bottom, as well as some abraded and polished highlights along some of the sculpture's edges and folds. The eggplant purple paint skin drapes over the top left corner of the funnel-shaped copper, winds around the back, bunches and loops around the bottom, and ultimately drapes into a crescent shaped swath over the bottom right side of the copper. Attached to the top back of the sculpture is a flat steel bar that hooks over a wall mount. The bar is held in place with silver tone metal nuts and screws.
- Place made
- Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Portfolio/Series
- She Is a Verb
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Topic
- Poetry
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2024.52
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Kennedy Yanko
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




