My Dreams, My Works Must Wait Till After Hell

Chitra Ganesh, Girl, Simone Leigh, My Dreams, My Works Must Wait Till After Hell, 2011, single-channel digital video, color, sound; 07:14 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Samuel and Blanche Koffler Acquisition Fund, 2019.33.1, © Girl (Simone Leigh and Chitra Ganesh); Courtesy of the artists and Luhring Augustine, New York
Girl, Simone Leigh, Chitra Ganesh, My Dreams, My Works Must Wait Till After Hell, 2011, single-channel digital video, color, sound; 07:14 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Samuel and Blanche Koffler Acquisition Fund, 2019.33.1, © Girl (Simone Leigh and Chitra Ganesh); Courtesy of the artists and Luhring Augustine, New York

Artwork Details

Title
My Dreams, My Works Must Wait Till After Hell
Date
2011
Location
Not on view
Copyright
© Girl (Simone Leigh and Chitra Ganesh); Courtesy of the artists and Luhring Augustine, New York
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Samuel and Blanche Koffler Acquisition Fund
Mediums Description
single-channel digital video, color, sound; 07:14 minutes
Classifications
Object Number
2019.33.1

Artwork Description

Working as an artistic duo named Girl, Leigh and Ganesh reimagine the reclining female nude, a common subject in European painting and sculpture, from their perspective as queer women of color. Instead of a pale-skinned, forward-facing Venus, viewers are shown the back of a black woman lying perfectly still on a marble slab. Her entire head is covered---either smothered or shielded---by a pile of small stones; subtle breath movements are the only sign of life. By hiding facial and sexual features, the artists offer some protection for this real person being presented as an idealized object. The video's title comes from a Gwendolyn Brooks poem, in which life's honey is stored but not tasted. It is saved as the speaker heads to war, the time of his return unknown, suggesting a parallel in the defensive precautions black women use to survive life's daily hostilities.

Works by this artist (20 items)

Mabel Dwight, Convent, Staten Island, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1981.48.3
Convent, Staten Island
lithograph
Not on view
Mabel Dwight, Farmyard, ca. 1930-1939, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1966.64.17
Farmyard
Dateca. 1930-1939
lithograph on paper
Not on view
Mabel Dwight, Aquarium (Alligators-NY Aquarium), 1928, hand-colored lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.3.3
Aquarium (Alligators-NY Aquarium)
Date1928
hand-colored lithograph on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Claire Falkenstein, City is Man, 1941-1952, linocut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.14, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
City is Man
Date1941-1952
linocut
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Untitled
Date1976
embossed paper
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Mandala
Date1977
lithograph
Not on view
Nathan Oliveira, Site with Blue and White, 1978, monotype, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.14
Site with Blue and White
Date1978
monotype
Not on view