Untitled
1996, printed 2020
Artist, American, born 1953
Artwork overview
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Medium
7 inkjet prints with sandblasted text on glass in wood frames
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
image/sheet (each): 76.2 × 58.42 cm (30 × 23 in.)
framed (each): 83.03 × 67.79 × 2.86 cm (32 11/16 × 26 11/16 × 1 1/8 in.)
overall (installed): 83.03 × 474.5 × 2.86 cm (32 11/16 × 186 13/16 × 1 1/8 in.) -
Accession
2020.96.1.a-g
More About this Artwork
Video: Carrie Mae Weems and the 54th Regiment
Artist Carrie Mae Weems and Carl J. Cruz, a descendant of Sgt. William H. Carney, the first Black soldier awarded the Medal of Honor, reflect on the story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment and its connections to the struggles still going on today.
Article: The Tangled Web of History: Carrie Mae Weems and The Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial
Carrie Mae Weems's series of seven photographs reframes a Civil War memorial to create a complex and compelling narrative about African American history.
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Carrie Mae Weems, Syracuse, NY; NGA purchase (through Jack Shainman Gallery, New York), 2020.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
2021
Conversations: Carrie Mae Weems and The Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial, National Gallery of Art, April 6, 2021-February 24, 2023
Bibliography
2024
Anderson, Nancy, and Sarah Greenough. "Beginning the Conversation." Art for the Nation no. 68 (Spring 2024): 5, repro.
Inscriptions
(first panel): center etched in glass: Squared-toed and flat-footed / we came walking / out of the wilderness / in twos & fours / heading north / toward industry / toward hope; on verso, lower left Mark Glista Frames stamp in red ink; Jack Shainman Gallery label lower right in black ink
(second panel): across recto etched in glass: [sheet music]; on verso, lower left Mark Glista Frames stamp in red ink; Jack Shainman Gallery label lower right in black ink
(third panel): center etched in glass: Guarded by Angels of Mercy / we cake-walked to Mood Indigo / into Shy-Town--The Windy City--Chicago; on verso, lower left Mark Glista Frames stamp in red ink; Jack Shainman Gallery label lower right in black ink
(fourth panel): center etched in glass: Jet Black or Indian Red / our scale of values differs / from that of the world from / which we have been excluded; on verso, lower left Mark Glista Frames stamp in red ink; Jack Shainman Gallery label lower right in black ink
(fifth panel): center etched in glass: Arriving in Bronzeville / we became killers of sheep / men of letters, women of steel; on verso, lower left Mark Glista Frames stamp in red ink; Jack Shainman Gallery label lower right in black ink
(sixth panel): across recto etched in glass: [sheet music]; on verso, lower left Mark Glista Frames stamp in red ink; Jack Shainman Gallery label lower right in black ink
(seventh panel): center etched in glass: Once out of the storm / came the act of naming / our voices crackling / with resistance / rose from deep within / and bid us rise / & stake our claim / block by block; on verso, lower left Mark Glista Frames stamp in red ink; Jack Shainman Gallery label lower right in black ink