Currently not on view

Birmingham,
2014

Toyin Ojih Odutola, born 1985, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Nigeria; active New York, NY
Published by Tamarind Institute, founded 1960

2017-5 a-c

A narrative is implied through a spiral of shifting postures in the triptych Birmingham, a series of portraits of the artist’s brother based on photographs taken in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Describing her work from this period, Odutola has remarked that she was confronting "this notion we have in America . . . that ‘black bodies’ could only occupy a few, specific locations and frames in order to feel authentic. . . . that the black image is only profitable in certain spaces—within the realm of entertainment or sports, for instance—was off-putting, to say the least." Although the work’s title names a geographic location, the figure stands against an open background, leaving his context to the imagination. Presenting a sequence of perspectives, this portrait is also a study of the expressive potential of posture and pose, recalling the tradition of academic figure studies—as Viola does with facial expressions in the work at left.

Information

Title

Birmingham

Dates

2014

Maker

Toyin Ojih Odutola

Medium

Triptych; lithographs with gold leaf

Dimensions

each: 61 × 41.9 cm (24 × 16 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Museum purchase, Felton Gibbons Fund

Object Number

2017-5 a-c

Culture

American

Type

prints, lithographs, triptychs

Materials

gold leaf, satin papers

Techniques

lithography

Subject

portraits, torso, men

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Citation

Toyin Ojih Odutola (born 1985, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Nigeria; active New York, NY), Published by Tamarind Institute (founded 1960), Birmingham, 2014. Triptych; lithographs with gold leaf; 61 × 41.9 cm (each). Museum purchase, Felton Gibbons Fund (2017-5 a-c) https://artmuseum-beta.princeton.edu/art/collections/objects/128819

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Currently not on view

Birmingham,
2014

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Bad Lands 79 ,
1970

Relief plaque depicting Nergal, god of the netherworld ,
ca. 1800–1600 B.C.

[untitled]

New York Times, Monday, November 10, 1997 ,
1997

San Marcos, Texas ,
1964

Mold for a figure ,
600–900 CE

Citation

Image Not Available for Download

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Currently not on view

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