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Moon Masque

  • Loïs Mailou Jones, Moon Masque, 1971, oil and collage on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006.24.5

Exhibition Label
At the center of Moon Masque is a papier-mâché replica of a heart-shaped white Kwele mask from Zaire surrounded by masklike profiles and designs drawn from Ethiopian textiles. Though stylized, the faces resemble actual individuals whose profiles are juxtaposed with tears falling from the eyes of the mask. It is tempting to speculate that the mask, representing heritage and tradition, weeps for the situation of contemporary African peoples.


African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012
Title
Moon Masque
Artist
Loïs Mailou Jones
Date
1971
On View
Not on view.
Dimensions
41 x 30 1/8 in. (104.1 x 76.4 cm)
Copyright
Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Bequest of the artist

Mediums
oil
Mediums Description
oil and collage on canvas
Classifications
Painting
Mixed Media
Highlights
Art by African Americans
Keywords
  • Abstract
  • Landscape – celestial – moon
  • Dress – costume – mask
  • Ethnic – African
Object Number
2006.24.5
Palette
Linked Open Data URI

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