Lorna Simpson Examines African American Identity

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The Photo Issue 2016

Lorna Simpson Examines African American Identity

In this series, Lorna Simpson took photos of black women from advertisements in old issues of Ebony and paired them with images from a 1931 textbook.

This story appeared in the 2016 Photo issue of VICE magazine.

Photographer Lorna Simpson, who had her 20-year retrospective at the Whitney in 2007, is famous for her work examining African American identity. In the series from which these images are drawn, Simpson took photos of black women from advertisements in old issues ofEbonyand paired them with images from a 1931 textbook.

Lorna Simpson, Frosty, 2016. Found photograph and collage on paper, 30 7/8 x 24 x 1 1/2 in. (78.4 x 61 x 3.8 cm) framed. Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York

Lorna Simpson, Commemorative Bust, 2016. Found photograph and collage on paper, 30 7/8 x 24 x 1 1/2 in. (78.4 x 61 x 3.8 cm) framed. Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York