Cob I

Nancy Grossman, Cob I, 1980, carved wood, leather, nails, paint, lacquered paint, horn, and lead, 17 ³⁄₄ x 9 ¹⁄₄ x 10 ¹⁄₂ in. (45.0 x 23.5 x 26.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.38, © 1980, Nancy Grossman

Artwork Details

Title: Cob I
Artist: Nancy Grossman
Date: 1980
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 17 ³⁄₄ x 9 ¹⁄₄ x 10 ¹⁄₂ in. (45.0 x 23.5 x 26.8 cm.)
Copyright: © 1980, Nancy Grossman
Credit Line: Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums: leather
nails
wood
paint
Mediums Description: carved wood, leather, nails, paint, lacquered paint, horn, and lead
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Fantasy — monster
Figure male — head
Dress — costume — mask
Object Number: 1986.6.38
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.38

Artwork Description

In the 1960s Grossman began carving fetishistic wooden heads that she painted then covered in leather. In Cob I, demonlike horns project from the cranium and metal studs serve as eyes, transforming the individual within into a creature that represents the bestial side of human nature. Grossman speaks here to choice: “Nature gives us one face,” she says; “we make ourselves another.”

Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014