Nocturnal (Horizon Line)

Copied Teresita Fernández, Nocturnal (Horizon Line), 2010, solid graphite on panel, overall: 72 x 144 x 2 in. (182.9 x 365.8 x 5.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.38A-C, © 2010, Teresita Fernández

Artwork Details

Title
Nocturnal (Horizon Line)
Artist
Date
2010
Location
Dimensions
overall: 72 x 144 x 2 in. (182.9 x 365.8 x 5.1 cm)
Copyright
© 2010, Teresita Fernández
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
solid graphite on panel
Classifications
Highlights
Keywords
  • Abstract
Object Number
2012.38A-C
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2012.38A-C

Artwork Description

Teresita Fernández made this artwork entirely of graphite, the same material found in pencils.

Look closely and a horizon line across a large body of water begins to emerge amid the three sections of the artwork. The top part is very smooth, almost as if the graphite has been painted onto the surface. The middle layer of polished drips brings to mind water glistening in the moonlight. In the bottom section, chunky clumps suggest the land and look like graphite in its natural state beneath the earth.

The luster of this piece is most evident if you consider it from various angles. "What animates that surface, in fact, is the viewer moving around it," said Fernández.
Description in Spanish

Fernández tiene preferencia por los materiales procesados y las formas minimalistas que invitan a interpretaciones múltiples. Nocturnal (Horizon Line) se inspiró en la historia del valle de Borrowdale en Cumbria, Inglaterra, donde se extrajo grafito por primera vez. Fernández buscó crear una imagen de la naturaleza forjada a partir de la tierra misma. Estudió el grafito para aprender cómo manipular un material estrechamente asociado con representaciones dibujadas del paisaje. Ni preocupaciones ecológicas ni el nacionalismo influyen en la visión del paisaje de Fernández. El significado más bien se deriva de la interacción entre su representación de la naturaleza y la mirada activa del espectador.

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

Videos

Related Books

OurAmerica_500.jpg
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art explores how Latino artists shaped the artistic movements of their day and recalibrated key themes in American art and culture. This beautifully illustrated volume 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. Our America includes works by artists who participated in all the various artistic styles and movements, including abstract expressionism; activist, conceptual, and performance art; and classic American genres such as landscape, portraiture, and scenes of everyday life. 

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 24, 2013–March 2, 2014
Smithsonian American Art Museum
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.

Related Posts

Visiting Fellow Susana Rodriguez discusses Nocturne (Horizon Line)
Research and Scholarship
10/23/2018
Art Bites: Nocturnal (Horizon Line)
Susana Rodriguez, a Visiting Student at SAAM and NPG, discusses Teresita Fernández's work, Nocturnal, (Horizon Line), 2010.
Susana "Xuxa" Rodríguez