"National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. in association with Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford". "Published to accompany the exhibition Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (May 11, 2018-March 10, 2019)."--Colophon. Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-172) and index.
Contents:
Director's foreword / Kim Sajet -- Introduction / Asma Naeem -- Black out : silhouettes then and now / Asma Naeem -- Without a trace : the art and life of Martha Ann Honeywell / Alexander Nemerov -- "Interesting characters by the lines of their faces" : Moses Williams's profile portrait silhouettes of Native Americans / Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw -- Shades of black and white : American portrait silhouettes / Penley Knipe -- Catalogue entries / Anne Verplanck and Asma Naeem.
Summary:
"Before the advent of photography in 1839, Americans were consumed by the fashion for silhouette portraits. Economical in every sense, the small, stark profiles cost far less than oil paintings and could be made in minutes. Black Out, the first major publication to focus on the development of silhouettes, gathers leading experts to shed light on the surprisingly complex historical, political, and social underpinnings of this ostensibly simple art form. In its examination of portraits by acclaimed silhouettists, such as Auguste Edouart and William Bache, this richly illustrated volume explores likenesses of everyone from presidents and celebrities to everyday citizens and enslaved people. Ultimately, the book reveals how silhouettes registered the paradoxes of the unstable young nation, roiling with tensions over slavery and political independence. Primarily tracing the rise of the silhouette in the decades leading up to the Civil War, Black Out also considers the ubiquity of the genre today, particularly in contemporary art. Using silhouettes to address such themes as race, identity, and the notion of the digital self, the four featured living artists--Kara Walker, Kristi Malakoff, Kumi Yamashita, and Camille Utterback--all take the silhouette to unique and fascinating new heights. Presenting the distinctly American story behind silhouettes, Black Out vividly delves into the historical roots and contemporary interpretations of this evocative, ever popular form of portraiture." -- Publisher's description
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.