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African Mask

Lonnie Holley American
2004
Not on view
Composed of a welder’s mask mounted onto and encircled by shredded radial tire and various plastic objects (including an electrical socket), Holley’s sculpture suggests an African masquerade costume— one of many references to the arts of Africa detectable throughout the Souls Grown Deep gift. The surprising appearance of the welder’s mask in this context speaks to the experience of men of African descent who entered the modern industrialized workforce, specifically the steel and iron industry. Metalworkers traditionally have been held in high regard in West Africa, in contrast to the status of Black factory workers in the South. By elevating the welder’s mask, Holley reframes the object in terms of ceremonial costume and religious ritual, and highlights the importance of skilled labor throughout history.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: African Mask
  • Artist: Lonnie Holley (American, born Birmingham, Alabama, 1950)
  • Date: 2004
  • Medium: Gum, plastics, nylon and metal
  • Dimensions: 35 3/4 × 33 × 9 1/4 in., 12.1 lb. (90.8 × 83.8 × 23.5 cm, 5.5 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.548.7
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Lonnie Holley/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Grown Together in the Midst of the Foundation, Lonnie Holley American, Cottonwood, steel, metal wire, concrete and poly(vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate)
Grown Together in the Midst of the Foundation
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Ruling for the Child, Lonnie Holley American, Investment casting materials
Ruling for the Child
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Red Roses Sonata, Alma Thomas American, Acrylic on canvas
Red Roses Sonata
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Andrea Motley Crabtree, the first, Henry Taylor American, Acrylic on canvas
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Untitled, Ed Clark American, Acrylic on canvas
Untitled
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