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Roberta Williamson, You're Perfect, 1998, hand fabricated, pierced, formed, soldered, bezel set sterling silver, crystal, lithograph, paper, ink, polychrome, steel, plastic, carnelian, brass, and wood, 4 5⁄8 x 2 1⁄4 x 5⁄8 in. (11.6 x 5.7 x 1.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Richard T. Evans Fund, 2000.4
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Artwork Details
- Title
- You’re Perfect
- Artist
- Date
- 1998
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 4 5⁄8 x 2 1⁄4 x 5⁄8 in. (11.6 x 5.7 x 1.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase through the Richard T. Evans Fund
- Mediums Description
- hand fabricated, pierced, formed, soldered, bezel set sterling silver, crystal, lithograph, paper, ink, polychrome, steel, plastic, carnelian, brass, and wood
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Animal — insect — fly
- Object — written matter
- Object Number
- 2000.4
Artwork Description
You’re Perfect is one in a series Roberta Williamson calls “I kiss your back each night in my mind.” When this brooch was made, Williamson’s teenage daughter, Lauren, recently had undergone an operation to correct the lateral curvature of her spine. You’re Perfect expresses the artist’s unconditional love for her daughter and refers to Lauren’s first day at school after her surgery, when she bravely revealed her scar to classmates and jokingly tested the magnetism of the steel rods fused to her spine. Williamson challenges the idea of perfection in this piece by using an image of a large fly and an imitation fly pin, both of which remind the viewer that what is ugly to one is beautiful to another.