Take One
Emma Amos
American, 1937–2020
1985–87
A large stencil composition on torn-and-pasted paper in which Emma Amos repeats a reclining, blindfolded and bound female figure labeled “BLACK / WHITE / COLORED,” using repetition and collage to force a confrontation with the racialized and commodified body.
What hits you first is the repeated horizontal rows of the same rooted, reclining figure printed in alternating black and white blocks, the torn paper edges and misregistered prints creating a jagged, stuttering rhythm, while the stamped red injunction “TAKE ONE” at the bottom turns the image into a troubling, disposable commodity.
By fusing printmaking, stencil, and collage, Amos joins feminist and Black critiques of the 1980s to show how mass reproduction and racial categories erase individuality and turn Black women into labeled objects, insisting that representation is a political act.
Medium
Stencil on torn-and-pasted paper
Dimensions
composition (irreg.): 40 13/16 x 29 1/4" (103.7 x 74.3 cm); sheet (mount): 41 5/16 x 29 1/2" (105 x 74.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Sylvan Cole, in memory of Lillyan Cole
Accession
237.1989
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
