Beclouded
2018
Ink and screenprint on gessoed wood
108 x 96 x 1/1/4”

Lorna Simpson (b. 1960) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to parents who shared her love of art. Simpson started taking photographs before high school, after mailing in coupons from the backs of Kleenex boxes to get a free Polaroid camera. This first passion stuck with her through her time studying at the School of Visual Arts, where she majored in painting and photography. After pursuing an MFA at the University of California, she began exploring conceptual interweaving of text and photography.

Simpson’s later work was informed by found images, such as photos and text from old Jet and Ebony magazines found in her grandparent’s home. Simpson’s work also explores the colors blue, black and the cultural concept of “blue-black,” a descriptive term used primarily by African Americans to describe dark-skinned people. Simpson found inspiration in the works of poet Robin Coste Lewis, who shares her interest in the intersection of color theory and racial and cultural identity. Simpson included Coste’s poem about the Arctic on the wall of one of her shows.

Simpson continued this theme of the Arctic for several years, invoking a harsh place that is inhospitable to human life. The already dangerous environment is emphasized by her dramatic palette—deep blues and blacks—as if it is night. Through her works, Simpson expresses her belief that we are currently living in a dark period in American history, and questions how to survive.