Stefan Miller
Title: “Untitled (2 Necklines)”
Artist: Lorna Simpson
Date: 1989
In this photograph I see two necklines, hence the name. The words condescending through the middle give meaning to the two adjacent pictures. Surround, ring, lasso, noose, eye, areola, halo, cuffs, collar, loop (colored in black) and feel the ground sliding from under you (colored in red) give true meaning towards the photographs. The first woman in the circle is positioned as if she is leaned or disturbed, it almost looks as if her feelings have been obstruct, as if she wants to feel sad about something. Her lips give off a bad vibe, in no ways does she appear to be happy, and she is emotionless. The picture is giving off a reflection as if it was intended, almost as if you are supposed to see through her. The picture on the right is not the same as the other, her lips are calm, and her blouse is put on to its utmost potential. Nothing about her is wrong, she looks relaxed. They are both wearing a white blouse, and they are both in geometric circular frames side by side with words in the middle.
There are two geometric shapes, the pictures are in circular frames, and the words are in rectangles. The shades contrast with the vivid red that is put at the bottom (middle). The Dominance found in this piece are the textual writing that have related meaning to the picture, they dominate because they give more potential than the pictures itself. The photograph is symmetrical with two shapes on either side that are of the same shape and size as well as the words that descend from top to bottom. The picture also provides harmony and unity, because of the subtle use of geometry and color, they are positioned in such a way that it appeals to the audience.
To me, this art work appears to be interpreting African-American women, and the hardships that are faced with being one. The letters tell us about the pictures and how they correspond. The clothes that the lady in the first photograph is the same, but the positioning of the clothes has no similarities, the blouse is slowly falling off, giving a sense that someone is doing this to her. Her emotions are in no way happy, she is putting me in a position that makes me want to know more about her situation.
The word “surround”, could mean what is around them, they could be surrounded by good or bad, in my opinion I would have to notion that the photo on the left is bad, and the photo on the right is good. The photo on the right gives off a vibe that her surroundings are perfect and that nothing can get in her way, although she is dressed the exact same way as the other; she is presented in such a way that makes her impervious.
Her lips appear to be smirking as if she’s done well or as if she’s gotten rid of her bad surroundings. The word “ring”, could mean a marriage, symbolizing her spouse.
To me the picture looks like a before and after, seeing as her posture and her expression has changed, and the words that are written could mean what has changed now that she is happy. I am interpreting this photograph as a change for the better, because before she was broken down, her clothes were not on properly, her face was disturbed. Her image had a reflection as if she was being barricaded and stuck; she was trapped in this world. The second image to me looks as if she got out, there is no reflection her clothes are the same but they’re adjusted.
The artists view on the world from this picture is that women are trapped in certain relationships that they cannot get out of, they are helpless without hope. The words that she used are “feel the ground sliding from under you”, this could mean that she is finally able to let go and become free. The artist believes that women are bound by something, and in this picture this women is getting freed, and her ground is falling beneath her because she no longer needs to walk on it. The artist expresses her content with letters and pictures, two forms of art that better describes her depiction of African-American Women.
“Lorna Simpson, one of the foremost figures in conceptual photography and installation art, began to exhibit in the early 1980s while in graduate school at the University of California in San Diego. Her early works question the authority of photographs as bearers of factual truth, attacking, in particular, stereotypes attached to African American females.
In the late 1980s, Simpson concentrated increasingly on text-image interventions and serial imagery. Untitled (2 Necklines) is exemplary of this period. Two identical black-and-white photographs of a woman, shown from her lower chin and mouth to her breast bone, hang in matching black circular frames on either side of a vertical column of black-and-white plaques. All but one of these plaques bear a single word—ring, surround, lasso, noose, eye, areola, halo, cuffs, collar, loop. These references to encirclement combined with the round shape of the photograph evoke the menace of lynching. The final textual panel, larger than the rest, makes this threat explicit; set against a blood-red background, the white words read, “feel the ground sliding from under you.” Manipulating language and form, Simpson subverts the serene beauty of these photographs and converts aesthetic seduction into a compelling picture of aggression and victimization.”
The artist’s intent was to show seduction and the way that she interpreted this was through a variety of conceptual art, she used writing and pictures. My thoughts have not changed, seeing as my thoughts on the art were the same as the artist’s intent.
I have learned that looking closely and fining change in such simple art is excruciatingly important, having that keen eye and being able to interpret what the artist is saying allows me to understand more. Lorna used words in her photograph without these words it would have made it harder to understand the meaning but, at the same time the different emotions on her face and the posture told me just as much.
