It's Going Down

Date2015

MediumMixed media on paper

Dimensions34 × 23 1/2 in. (86.4 × 59.7 cm) Framed Size: 43 × 34 1/2 in. (109.2 × 87.6 cm)

Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection

Object numberDCCAH2017.019.1

ClassificationsPaintings

Locations

DFHV Client Services Office (2235 Shannon Pl SE, Suite 2004)

DescriptionIn April of 2015, Gibson-Hunter attended a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont. The residency was for one month, so she thought it would be advantageous to design a project that she could dive into as soon as she reached Vermont. Gibson-Hunter had seen the Jasper Johns show "No Regrets", and found his process to be very interesting. He started with photographs, then drew them, and began abstracting them by pulling out the positive and negative space, and transferring the shapes into new compositions. She decided to do the same. While researching Jasper Johns, to better understand his work and life, Gibson-Hunter came upon a photograph that is reported to have hung next to his drawing table. The image is of two Black women. One woman, who is older, is holding an intravenous drip for a younger woman. She found the image captivating. The women are connected by a gently curving tubing and the wall in the background is beautiful, almost Rothcoesque. The rhythms in the patterns of the women's clothing are punctuated by color. It is from this photograph that Gibson-Hunter created a series of drawings, and abstract works on paper and canvas. The first images were closely aligned with the photographs, mimicking forms, bits of color, or elements of the composition, but as the month went on she pushed the pieces into their own constellations, demanding their own vibrancy through gestural strokes and vibrating color, cutting and folding to create 3D forms. Painting, drawing, printmaking, collage were called upon to create the work. There are 20 pieces in the series.