Knowledge #78; 1154 A.D.
Artist
Joyce Kozloff
(American, b. 1942)
Date2000
MediumGesso, watercolor on cardboard, porcelain base
DimensionsObject: 12 3/8 x 9 5/16 x 9 in. (31.4 x 23.7 x 22.9 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineMemphis Brooks Museum of Art purchase; funds provided by the Marjorie Liebman Bequest
Object number2008.18.1
CommentaryDuring a residency in Rome (1999-2000), Joyce Kozloff revised her ongoing series of maps based on historical documents. She shifted from flat panels to working on cardboard Rand McNally globes that she covered with plaster and gesso and painted with watercolor to mimic frescoes. Typical is Knowledge #78, based on a map created by the Arab cartographer al-Idrisi in 1154 for King Roger II of Sicily. It is in Arabic with north and south inverted so that the South Pole is at the top of the globe. One of the artist’s intentions is pointing out that although maps appear to be scientific and objective, they are nonetheless influenced and determined by the maker. Some of the errors found in older maps can be attributed to a lack of knowledge, but colonial ambitions may also be reflected.
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