Larry Levan (snake)

Elia Alba, Larry Levan (snake), 2006, printed 2010, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by William W. W. Parker, 2013.45.1, © 2006, Elia Alba
Elia Alba, Larry Levan (snake), 2006, printed 2010, gelatin silver print, image: 19 1219 12 in. (49.549.5 cm) sheet: 20 1220 in. (52.050.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by William W. W. Parker, 2013.45.1, © 2006, Elia Alba

Artwork Details

Title
Larry Levan (snake)
Artist
Date
2006, printed 2010
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 19 1219 12 in. (49.549.5 cm) sheet: 20 1220 in. (52.050.8 cm)
Copyright
© 2006, Elia Alba
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by William W. W. Parker
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Recreation — dancing
  • Performing arts — other — DJ
  • Portrait male — Levan, Larry
  • Dress — costume — mask
Object Number
2013.45.1

Artwork Description

Alba’s photographs challenge the straightforward link between how a person looks and who they are. Here several partygoers wear masks depicting the face of Larry Levan (1954-1992), the legendary DJ of the Paradise Garage in New York City. Levan was a key figure of disco music originally nurtured in gay, black, and Latino communities. By combining the mask of a man and the body of a female, or placing a brown-skinned mask on a white body, Alba contests narrow definitions of race, gender, and sexuality.

Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013

Description in Spanish

Las fotografías de Alba desafían el vínculo directo entre la apariencia y la identidad personal. Aquí varios enmascarados portan la cara de Larry Levan (1954 – 1992), el legendario DJ del Paradise Garage de Nueva York. Levan era una figura clave de la música disco, género musical cultivado originalmente entre las comunidades gay, negra y latina. Al combinar la m piel morena en un cuerpo blanco, Alba cuestiona las definiciones estrechas de raza, género y sexualidad.

Nuestra América: la presencia latina en el arte estadounidense, 2013

Works by this artist (2 items)

Martha Levy, Landscape, Winter, ca. 1933-1934, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.11
Landscape, Winter
Dateca. 1933-1934
oil on fiberboard
Not on view
Martha Levy, Unidentified, Winter Scene, 1934, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.215
Winter Scene
Artist
Attributed to Martha Levy
Unidentified
Date1934
oil on fiberboard
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 25, 2013March 2, 2014
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.