Untitled

James Castle, Untitled, ca. 1931-1977, found paper and soot, 56 12 in. (12.716.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Castle Collection and Archive and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2013.27.3

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled
Artist
Date
ca. 1931-1977
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
56 12 in. (12.716.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the James Castle Collection and Archive and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
found paper and soot
Classifications
Object Number
2013.27.3

Artwork Description

James Castle used drawing and collage to speak his mind. Although he was best known for drawings of the Idaho landscape, Castle's creative investigations of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks are among his most intriguing.

For Castle, spoken and written language presented realms beyond reach. The artist was deaf from birth and, despite some schooling, never became fluent in alternative communications such as lipreading, signing, reading, or writing. Over many decades, Castle made unique arrangements and booklets that stabbed at deciphering texts from the world around him: communiques that prompted conversation for others, but remained, for him, impenetrable.

Although Castle's quest to unlock the secrets of the written word did not prevail, his artworks reveal, uniquely and powerfully, a decoder's approach to understanding the world and the artist's lifelong pursuit of human connection.

Works by this artist (5 items)

John Alexander, The Cake Walk, 1985, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James F. Dicke Family, 2014.11.1
The Cake Walk
Date1985
oil on canvas
Not on view
Welcome to My World
Date1982
watercolor and gouache on heavy off-white paper
Not on view
John Alexander, Conversations with a Spider, 1980, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art ( Museum purchase, William A. Clark Fund), 2020.20.5
Conversations with a Spider
Date1980
oil on canvas
Not on view
John Alexander, Living Your Life in a Goldfish Bowl, 1985, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of United Stationers, Inc., 1995.70.1
Living Your Life in a Goldfish Bowl
Date1985
oil on canvas
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

James F. Dicke II, Untitled #48, 2009, mixed media on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marsha Ralls, 2010.19.1, © 2009, James F. Dicke II
Untitled #48
Date2009
mixed media on canvas
On view
Residual Series: Weak Heart, Strong Lungs
Date2018
ink, charcoal, acrylic, spray paint, enamel, oil, metal dust and pine needles on canvas
Not on view
Alexis Rockman, Gymnorhamphichthys bogardusae, 2001, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William and Maria Spears, 2019.58
Gymnorhamphichthys bogardusae
Date2001
oil on wood
Not on view
Gregory Amenoff, Swale, 2007, oil on panel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James F. Dicke Family, 2014.12.2, © 2007, Gregory Amenoff
Swale
Date2007
oil on panel
Not on view