Thornbush Blues Totem

John Scott, Thornbush Blues Totem, 1990, painted steel, 97 3⁄4 x 63 1⁄2 x 37 1⁄2 in. (248.3 x 161.4 x 95.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.34

Artwork Details

Title
Thornbush Blues Totem
Artist
Date
1990
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
97 3⁄4 x 63 1⁄2 x 37 1⁄2 in. (248.3 x 161.4 x 95.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
painted steel
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1994.34
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1994.34

Artwork Description

Scott learned well the lessons of his blues and jazz sources. The brightly colored surfaces of Thornbush Blues Totem not only define the relationship among the cut and bent metal parts; the sequencing of color also echoes the way musicians modulate tempo and pace. Blue and orange establish structure; the varying distances between stripes and bands are intervals that quicken or slow the pulsing cadence. For him, interval, rhythm, and space are interdependent elements in a swirling dance of color and form.


African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012

Works by this artist (50 items)

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Jack Beal, Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in America, The 18th Century: Settlement (U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC), ca. 1975, brush and ink and ink wash on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.160
Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in…
Artist
Dateca. 1975
brush and ink and ink wash on paper
Not on view
Jack Beal, Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in America, The 19th Century: Industry (U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC), ca. 1975, conte crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.169
Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in…
Artist
Dateca. 1975
conte crayon on paper
Not on view
Jack Beal, Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in America, The 18th Century: Settlement (U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC), ca. 1975, felt-tipped pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.166
Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in…
Artist
Dateca. 1975
felt-tipped pen and ink on paper
Not on view
Jack Beal, Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in America, The 19th Century: Industry (U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC), ca. 1975, felt-tipped pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.173
Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in…
Artist
Dateca. 1975
felt-tipped pen and ink on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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Jack Beal, Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in America, The 17th Century: Colonization (U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC), ca. 1975, brush and ink, ink wash, and conte crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1977.47.144
Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in…
Artist
Dateca. 1975
brush and ink, ink wash, and conte crayon on paper
Not on view
Jack Beal, Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in America, The 17th Century: Colonization (U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC), ca. 1975, brush and ink and conte crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.143
Preliminary sketch for mural The History of Labor in…
Artist
Dateca. 1975
brush and ink and conte crayon on paper
Not on view
Image Not Available
Silk Stockings are Bayonets, drawing for ​“The Masses”
Artist
Date1937
conte crayon, brush and ink and china white on paper
Not on view
Jose Luis Cuevas, "Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful."--Friedrich Nietzsche, 1885. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1963, ink, colored ink, conte crayon and colored pencil on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.73
“Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.”-…
Artist
Date1963
ink, colored ink, conte crayon and colored pencil on paper mounted on paperboard
Not on view