Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an oil drawing by Glenn Ligon. It dates from 2000 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 2000, this untitled work by Glenn Ligon combines coal dust, printing ink, oilstick and adhesive on a sheet of screen‑printed paper. Classified as a drawing, the piece presents a dense field of smudged marks that suggest fragments of text and faint silhouettes, evoking the impression of a wall layered with indistinct writing.
Subject & Meaning
The composition continues Ligon’s investigation of race, language and identity, employing ambiguous textual fragments that resist easy reading. By invoking the visual residue of words and faces, the work alludes to the ways cultural narratives are both inscribed and erased, echoing the artist’s broader engagement with literary figures such as James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston.
Technique & Style
Ligon applies actual coal dust alongside ink and oil‑based media, allowing the materials to smudge and blend across the paper’s surface. The resulting texture resembles fingerprints or grime, creating a tactile sense of accumulation. The use of screen‑printed paper as a substrate references mass‑produced imagery while the hand‑applied marks retain a gestural, conceptual quality.
History & Provenance
The piece is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection, where it has been displayed as an example of Ligon’s early‑2000s practice. Acquired shortly after its creation, the work reflects the artist’s emergence as a leading figure in contemporary conceptual art during that period.
Context
Ligon is credited with coining the term “Post‑Blackness,” a framework that examines Black identity beyond traditional racial categories. This untitled drawing aligns with that discourse, situating itself within a lineage of 20th‑century literary and cultural references while foregrounding the materiality of text as a visual element.
Artist & collection
Artist
Glenn Ligon (born 1960, pronounced Lie-gōne) is an American conceptual artist whose work explores race, language, desire, sexuality, and identity.
