Kiki Smith (American, born Germany 1954)
published by Universal Limited Art Editions
Banshee Pearls
INV-1178
Kiki Smith (American, born Germany 1954)
published by Universal Limited Art Editions1991
Banshee Pearls
Kiki Smith (American, born Germany 1954) published by Universal Limited Art Editions →lithographprint
Date
1991
Medium
Set of 12 lithographs printed in black and shades of gray on cream Japanese wove paper
Dimensions
57 × 78 cm (22 1/2 × 30 3/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Kaye and Howard Haas
Banshee Pearls is Smith's second lithographic work. Each of the twelve prints is composed of several photographic states of Smith's face that have been processed, altered, and recombined. Some have been rephotocopied until the subtleties of shadow are transformed into crude masks; others have been blown up beyond recognition. The prints, although created by photo-mechanical means, are intensely personal; they hark back to traditions based on mythic ritual in which each act of repetition is a new statement of respect and creation. In their repeated and tattered quality, the faces of Smith's prints become talismanic. She has pushed the snapshot into the discomforting realm of the relic.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
Untitled (Hair)
Kiki Smith (American, born Germany, 1954) published by Universal Limited Art Editions (American, founded 1955)
Sueño
Kiki Smith (American, born Germany, 1954) published by Universal Limited Art Editions (American, founded 1955)
Puppet
Kiki Smith (American, born Germany, 1954) published by Universal Limited Art Editions (American, founded 1955)
