Object Details
Artist
Kiki Smith
Date
2000
Medium
Etching, aquatint, drypoint, and sanding with watercolor
Dimensions
Image: 21 3/4 × 47 1/2 inches (55.2 × 120.7 cm)
Sheet: 51 × 75 inches (129.5 × 190.5 cm)
Frame: 55 1/4 × 78 3/4 × 2 7/16 inches (140.3 × 200 × 6.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired through the Professor M. H. Abrams and Ruth Abrams Purchase Fund, the Cronkhite Art Purchase Endowment, the Herbert F. Johnson, Class of 1922, Endowment, and the David M. Solinger, Class of 1926, Endowment
Object
Number
2004.042
In this intentionally crude scene, a girl trying to stay afloat is followed by a pack of birds as th(…)
In this intentionally crude scene, a girl trying to stay afloat is followed by a pack of birds as the water rises. This surreal image is taken directly from illustrations of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Removed from Lewis Carroll’s original context, Smith’s image takes on an element of danger: the girl appears to be chased by the animals rather than racing with them. Smith’s unique working process, in which she walks around and on top of the plate, creates random, jagged marks that are not removed in the final image. These marks carry connotations of violence, like claw or slash marks. Applying a feminist lens to our interpretation of the image shows us a girl about to be consumed by incredible violence as she is thrust into womanhood in a patriarchal society. (“Imprint/ In Print,” curated by Nancy E. Green with assistance from Christian Waibel ’17 and presented at the Johnson Museum August 8 – December 20, 2015)
