Name/Title
Black Jesus CrucifixEntry/Object ID
2019.1.6Description
The figure in this painting is very recognizable as Mose T's figure-painting style. The male's figure has a rectangular body and thin, bent arms along with Tolliver's signature nose, extending from the forehead. Rays of light stream from behind the figure's head and shoulders and his hands are folded in a prayer-like gesture, indicating him as a holy being. He wears nothing but thin black shoes and stands on a raised surface, feet turned inward. Behind him rests a light blue background, speckled with spots of yellow and red. Mose T is quoted saying, "I paint what I feel like painting-what is in my head".
In the first article that Mose was published in (the Montgomery Advertiser, 1981), the Director of the Museum of American Folk Art, Dr. Robert Bishop, claimed that: "You can hang him beside a Picasso, and you have the same kind of creativity and deep personal vision."Collection
Southern Vernacular Art CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2019.1Source or Donor
Hill, Lou & CaynneAcquisition Method
DonationMade/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Tolliver, MoseRole
ArtistDate made
n.d.Dimensions
Height
50-1/2 inWidth
12 inInterpretative Labels
Label
Mose Tolliver (1920-2006)
Born in Alabama in 1920, Tolliver claimed to have been creating artwork his entire life. His images are created on house-paint encrusted pieces of plywood and include sexually explicit images of women, self-portraits, buses, birds, snakes, and fruit. He would attach these images to the tab of a soda or beer can as a hanging device. As the years progressed, Tolliver became less dexterous and began to train his children to carry out his works.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
January 22, 2019