Counting
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
By the time Brooklyn-based Lorna Simpson completed her M.F.A. at the University of California, San Diego, in 1985, she was already gaining recognition for her large-scale photographs focusing on the female African American figure. Subtly addressing issues of racial and gender identity in American society, she juxtaposed text with her photographs, continually presenting her female subject as anonymous by hiding part of her face or choosing a view of the figure’s back. Thus the viewer never knew these women as individuals.
In Counting, Simpson presents us with three images: an African American woman, a brick hut, and braids. As in most of her work, the meaning is open-ended, but the adjacent texts suggest that the work deals with labor and slavery. The woman is paired with time slots that could imply work shifts. Text alluding to the beginning of slavery appears with a Southern smokehouse once used as a slave hut. The image of braids coupled with the text “25 twists, 70 braids, 50 locks” implies the arrangement of multiple, intricate braids, a cultural trait sometimes associated with African American women.
Caption
Lorna Simpson American, born 1960. Counting, 1991. Photogravure and silkscreen, 73 1/4 x 37 1/2 in. (186.1 x 95.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Ellen and Daniel Shapiro, 2002.58. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2002.58_bw_SL3.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Publishers
Title
Counting
Date
1991
Medium
Photogravure and silkscreen
Classification
Dimensions
73 1/4 x 37 1/2 in. (186.1 x 95.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Ellen and Daniel Shapiro
Accession Number
2002.58
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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Frequent Art Questions
Could you please tell me more about this work?
Simpson is known for juxtaposing text with her photographs to address cultural and historical conceptions of gender and race.In this work, she presents us with images of an African American woman, a brick hut, and braids, each of which is underscored by counting.The meaning is deliberately open ended, forcing the viewer to puzzle out it’s possible meanings.Yeah the piece really makes you want to decipher it. Like the time ranges too. It’s tough to take myself away from it. I just want to figure it out. It definitely leaves an impression and makes you think!Exactly. The work is likely making a reference to women’s labor and slavery. The time slots could imply workshifts. The texts on either side of the house allude to the beginning of slavery when the smokehouse was once used as a slave hut. Finally, the bottom register makes a direct reference to black hair.What about "Counting" by Lorna Simpson?
Lorna Simpson's photo works like these are intended to be somewhat ambiguous. The text provides a suggestion of how to look at it, but still doesn't quite tell you what it's about.These text-photo juxtapositions are her signature style and force the viewer to puzzle over their meaning.
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