Null

Currently not on view

Null

2018

James A. Rose (American, born 1962)

Philadelphia artist James Rose created two oversized drawings of his face, titled Null and Void. He imposes a visual order using crosses that simultaneously mark and obscure his likeness. Rose has explained that his work engages "issues surrounding spirituality, race, and sexuality," particularly through the representation of his own body. His drawings reflect a struggle to achieve "emotional balance" in a world where, as a gay Black man, he is alternately targeted and ignored, "seen and not seen usually for all the wrong reasons." The titles Null and Void—and his process of gouging the crosses into the drawings—speak to this erasure.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Null

Date:

2018

Artist:

James A. Rose (American, born 1962)

Medium:

Graphite and black chalk with stumping and incising on board

Dimensions:

Sheet: 39 15/16 × 31 7/8 inches (101.4 × 81 cm)

Classification:

Drawings

Credit Line:

Purchased with funds contributed by Morris and Donna Stroud, 2020

Accession Number:

2020-61-1a

Geography:

Made in Fishtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America

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Currently not on view