''Untitled'' is a painting by

Ellen Gallagher Ellen Gallagher (born December 16, 1965) is an American artist. Her work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is held in the permanent collections of many major museums. Her media include painting, works on paper, film and ...

. It is in the collection of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. According to Gallagher, this

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

artwork represents a

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...

. It comprises a collection of pieces of paper adhered to a canvas like a collage, including two pieces of

penmanship Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. Today, this is most commonly done with a pen, or pencil, but throughout history has included many different implements. The various generic and formal histor ...

paper in the middle. Groups of eyes and red lips are lightly painted onto the pieces of paper. The viewer must get close to the artwork to see the faint lips and eyes. This work was acquired by the Institute in 2016 as part of an ongoing effort to expand their collection of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

art and abstract figurative art.

References

1995 paintings Paintings by Ellen Gallagher {{20C-painting-stub