Cob I

Nancy Grossman, Cob I, 1980, carved wood, leather, nails, paint, lacquered paint, horn, and lead, 17 349 1410 12 in. (45.023.526.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.38, © 1980, Nancy Grossman

Artwork Details

Title
Cob I
Date
1980
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
17 349 1410 12 in. (45.023.526.8 cm.)
Copyright
© 1980, Nancy Grossman
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums Description
carved wood, leather, nails, paint, lacquered paint, horn, and lead
Classifications
Subjects
  • Fantasy — monster
  • Figure male — head
  • Dress — costume — mask
Object Number
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

Works by this artist (10 items)

Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Hip Hop, 1993, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.7, © 1993, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
Hip Hop
Date1993
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Looking Out, 1991, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.6, © 1991, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
Looking Out
Date1991
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Street Champion, 1986, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.5, © 1986, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
Street Champion
Date1986
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Earlie Hudnall, Jr., The Guardian, 1990, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.4, © 1990, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
The Guardian
Date1990
gelatin silver print
Not on view

Related Posts

Detailed crop of Twisted Column Figure
Twisting Column Figure represents the freedom that comes once we commit to unlearning and undoing restrictions, from society and from ourselves.
Nathaniel Phillips

More Artworks from the Collection

Bently
Dateca. 1975
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Lure of the Sea
Dateca. 1975
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.9
Untitled
Dateca. 1945-1950
gelatin silver print
Not on view