Browse

Accession #	2011.11
Artist	Fred Wilson
Title	Iago's Mirror
Date	2009
Medium	Murano glass
Dimensions	80 x 48 3/4 x 10 1/2 in., 137 lb. (203.2 x 123.8 x 26.7 cm, 62.1kg)
Credit Line	Purchased with funds given by John and Barbara Vogelstein, purchase gift of Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Arline and Norman Feinberg, Beverly and Steven A. Newborn, Sheila and Richard J. Schwartz, Leslie L. and Alan Beller, Barbara and Richard W. Moore, and Carla Shen
Location	American Identities: Everyday Life / A Nation Divided

Curatorial Remarks: Mirrors have always held an element of mystery, both reflecting and distorting the image. Iago’s Mirror is an example of Fred Wilson’s interest in investigating the racial implications of color and the African Diaspora in a global context.

Working in the tradition of the glassmakers of Venice, where there was a significant black African presence beginning in the Renaissance, the artist has reversed the tradition by painting the glass black instead of silvering it. The title refers to the duplicitous character who ensnares Shakespeare’s Othello, perhaps the most famous black figure in English literature.