Detail

Artist Glenn Ligon (American, born 1960)

Date2014

Mediumthree color screenprint

DimensionsImage: 9 1/8 × 11 15/16 in. (23.1 × 30.4 cm) Sheet: 13 1/16 × 16 in. (33.2 × 40.6 cm)

Credit LinePurchased with funds from The Print Society

CultureAmerican

Markings21/50

Object numberPC2014.16.01

ClassificationsPrint Collection

DescriptionA close-up layering of text taken from the testimony of six black teens beaten by the police during the Harlem race riots of 1964. The three shades of black in which they are printed differ in sheen, from glossy to matte.

InterpretationsDetail by Glenn Ligon recently entered the print collection at USD, adding to our growing collection of works by African-American artists. Ligon, a conceptual artist who works in a variety of media, often appropriates texts—from snippets lifted from canonical literature to historical accounts to ephemera—to probe the troubling and contested history of race and identity in the United States. Ligon has discussed his work on one level as “a text with different levels of legibility.” For Detail, a screenprint, Ligon appropriated the testimony of six black teens beaten by the police during a race riot in Harlem in 1964. A close-up of text taken from these accounts, the title is, in part, blandly descriptive, but it is also ironic: this close look obscures far more than it reveals. The work, printed in three colors in shades from matte to gloss, is a palimpsest of black on black on black on white. The words have been all but obliterated by this overprinting, offering, at first glance at least, a pleasing abstraction. But as the viewer changes her position, viewing the work from the side or pulling back, words begin to emerge from the background. Perhaps, then, the title is not so ironic after all, as it is a work that is most revealing and most rewarding when viewed carefully, from different perspectives, and in person.

This record has been reviewed by University Galleries staff but may be incomplete or contain errors. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For any inquiries about the information listed, please email galleries@sandiego.edu.