The Jerome Project (My Loss)
Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Object Label
Titus Kaphar created this body of work based on dozens of mugshots of incarcerated men who share the first and last name of his father, Jerome. The resulting series of portraits reflects the disproportionate effect that mass incarceration has on Black people and memorializes the experiences of distance and separation commonly felt by families with loved ones in prison.
Each figure appears before a gold-leaf ground that recalls the Byzantine tradition of icon painting. The thick layers of tar encroach upon the subject, representing the harm and the long-term effects of life under the carceral state.
Caption
Titus Kaphar American, born 1976. The Jerome Project (My Loss), 2014. Oil, gold leaf, and tar on wood panel, a, in travel frame: 214 lb. (97.07kg) b, in travel frame: 234 lb. (106.14kg) a, in display/storage vitrine: 365 lb. (165.56kg) a: 76 1/2 × 59 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (194.3 × 151.1 × 9.5 cm) Vitrine for a : 68 3/4 × 84 3/4 × 9 1/8 in. (174.6 × 215.3 × 23.2 cm) b: 76 1/2 × 59 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (194.3 × 151.1 × 9.5 cm) Vitrine for b: 68 3/4 × 84 1/2 × 9 . Brooklyn Museum, William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2015.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, CUR.2015.7a-b_Shainman_Gallery_photo_TIK14.087.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
The Jerome Project (My Loss)
Date
2014
Medium
Oil, gold leaf, and tar on wood panel
Classification
Dimensions
a, in travel frame: 214 lb. (97.07kg) b, in travel frame: 234 lb. (106.14kg) a, in display/storage vitrine: 365 lb. (165.56kg) a: 76 1/2 × 59 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (194.3 × 151.1 × 9.5 cm) Vitrine for a : 68 3/4 × 84 3/4 × 9 1/8 in. (174.6 × 215.3 × 23.2 cm) b: 76 1/2 × 59 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (194.3 × 151.1 × 9.5 cm) Vitrine for b: 68 3/4 × 84 1/2 × 9
Credit Line
William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund
Accession Number
2015.7a-b
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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Frequent Art Questions
What can you tell me about this piece by Titus Kaphar?
That's a really powerful piece, he uses a really interesting mix of materials such as gold leaf and tar. I think the mixing of this one very expensive and one very cheap material alludes to the meaning of this series.The label says it's about men who shared a name with his father and the common history of prison.I think that the tar symbolizes the time these men spent in prison: this heavy, suffocating, dark, coating material covers their lives. However, the gold leaf sparkles on top, showing the humanity and resilience of the people who endure incarceration. The gold leaf also references religious iconography. Jerome also was the name of St. Jerome, the man who translated the Bible into Latin.I know the show is called "I See Myself in You," I guess there's the identity of black men wrapped up in the prison system. And a shared identity of fathers and sons. Maybe the show is about identities being shared between people?Definitely, I'm glad you're finding a thematic thread through the curation. I like that many of the pieces in this show are a little harder to decipher as "portraits" or reflections of identity. It requires us to really think through our associations.They say everything an artist makes is a self portrait, right? Even if it's not a traditional self-portrait, a work of art reveals something about the maker.Absolutely! Artists' works are a reflection of their own lived experiences and beliefs.This work is very striking.
I think this gallery does a great job in showing how material can be integral to the meaning and motive behind a work of art. You have El Anatsui's work made of recycled metal bottle caps, Leonardo Drew working with found wood, and here, Kaphar using tar and gold leaf. Which I think is a really incredible message he is sending about the lives of the incarcerated. In my interpretation, the gold leaf recalls the resilience, integrity and value of the lives of the incarcerated, and the tar represents the stigma, the lost time and the cultural devaluing of prison inmates.What is the significance of this work?
This work is part of a series by the artist Titus Kaphar which he began in 2011. After searching online for his father’s prison record, he found dozens of men with the same first and last name. Inspired by this discovery, he created 10 inch portraits of each Jerome, using their mugshots as a reference. The tar that you'll notice was initially supposed to represent the percentage of each lifetime spent in prison, but he soon abandoned this formula in acknowledgment of the lasting effects of incarceration.The artist is drawing on the visual tradition of Byzantine icons, especially depictions of Saint Jerome, patron saint of students, librarians, and scholars.I think this work fits perfectly into the themes of the show, which frames mass incarceration as a direct descendent of lynching.
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