Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Lorna Simpson. It dates from 1994 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
The pieces are arranged in orderly rows and are part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection.
Created in 1994, Untitled is a composite work by Lorna Simpson consisting of twenty‑one small framed lithographs accompanied by seventeen lithographed texts mounted on felt. The pieces are arranged in orderly rows and are part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. The work presents a series of black‑and‑white images that focus on variations of human hair, each rendered with a graphic precision that emphasizes texture and form.
Subject & Meaning
The visual core of the series is the representation of hair in its many cultural and stylistic expressions—braids, curls, coils, straight strands, and tied arrangements. By isolating hair from the body, Simpson invites contemplation of identity, ethnicity, and personal narrative, allowing viewers to consider how such a seemingly simple element can convey complex social and individual histories.
Technique & Style
The images are produced through lithography, a printmaking process that transfers a drawn or painted image from a stone or metal plate onto paper. Simpson’s use of stark black‑and‑white contrasts heightens the tactile quality of the hair, while the accompanying felt‑mounted texts employ the same lithographic technique, linking visual and textual elements through a unified material language.
History & Provenance
Untitled was completed in 1994 and subsequently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains in the permanent collection. The work reflects Simpson’s ongoing exploration of photographic and print media during the early 1990s, a period marked by her investigations into representation and the body.
Context
Emerging in the early 1990s, Simpson’s practice intersected with broader dialogues about race, gender, and media representation in contemporary art. The focus on hair aligns with a lineage of artists who use bodily markers to interrogate cultural identity, situating the work within a critical discourse that examines how visual signifiers shape perception.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lorna Simpson is an American photographer and multimedia artist whose works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally.
