SOB, SOB

Kerry James Marshall, SOB, SOB, 2003, acrylic on fiberglass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2010.29, © 2003, Kerry James Marshall
Kerry James Marshall, SOB, SOB, 2003, acrylic on fiberglass, 10872 in. (274.3182.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2010.29, © 2003, Kerry James Marshall

Artwork Details

Title
SOB, SOB
Date
2003
Dimensions
10872 in. (274.3182.9 cm)
Copyright
© 2003, Kerry James Marshall
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
acrylic on fiberglass
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Figure female
  • African American
  • Architecture Interior
  • Object — written matter — book
  • Object — letter
Object Number
2010.29

Artwork Description

What might this woman be thinking and feeling? Her facial expression, along with the thought bubbles "SOB... SOB...," hints at what artist Kerry James Marshall calls "that place in between where you experience both a certain sadness and also a certain kind of anger about the things that you've discovered."

The book Africa since 1413 sits beside her, and the shelf behind her includes works by prominent Black writers and history volumes on Africa and the African diaspora.

SOB, SOB is an example of Marshall's signature style: monumental paintings with Black figures as their central subject. His work counters the exclusionary narratives in art history and art museums that push Black figures to the margins or off the canvas entirely.

Works by this artist (54 items)

Antonion Zeno Shindler, Marquesan Men, ca. 1893, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum acquisition, 1985.66.165,720
Marquesan Men
Dateca. 1893
oil on canvas
Not on view
Antonion Zeno Shindler, Siamese Man, ca. 1890-1899, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum acquisition, 1985.66.165,726
Siamese Man
Dateca. 1890-1899
oil on canvas
Not on view
Antonion Zeno Shindler, Sac and Fox Indian, ca. 1893, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum acquisition, 1985.66.165,700
Sac and Fox Indian
Dateca. 1893
oil on canvas
Not on view
Antonion Zeno Shindler, Kabyle Algerian, ca. 1893, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum acquisition, 1985.66.165,695
Kabyle Algerian
Dateca. 1893
oil on canvas
Not on view

Videos

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0.00%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected

      An interview with artist Kerry James Marshall at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Kerry James Marshall is one of the leading contemporary painters of his generation. Over the span of his career, he has become internationally known for monumental images of African American history and culture.

      Related Posts

      A multimedia portrait of a Black woman reclining in a chair.
      02/04/2022
      Hear Black artists speak about their life and work in a selection of videos
      SAAM

      More Artworks from the Collection

      William Holbrook Beard, The Runaway Match, 1877, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1977.55
      The Runaway Match
      Date1877
      oil on canvas
      Not on view
      John Henry Twachtman, Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife), ca. 1890-1900, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.137
      Figure in Sunlight (Artist’s Wife)
      Dateca. 1890-1900
      oil on canvas
      On view
      John R. Grabach, Vanity, n.d., oil on canvas mounted on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1979.119.3
      Vanity
      Daten.d.
      oil on canvas mounted on wood
      Not on view