Narrator: Who do you think this woman might be? You can’t really see her face, so it’s hard to tell exactly who she is. The artist who made this, Lorna Simpson, often puts carefully chosen pictures and words together to question what people know and understand about African American history and experience. And she’s done just that in this work of art. It’s called
Counting.
All of the pictures, words, and numbers you see could have more than just one meaning. They relate to the idea of time and counting things in different ways. They may also relate to slavery.
In the middle of the picture is a round building with a pointy roof. It’s a smokehouse for cooking food with a smoky taste—like fish or ham. African American slaves were sometimes made to live in them. Imagine the smoke, the smell, and the dirt. It would have been yucky to live there.
At the bottom is a wound-up braid of hair. Below it, it says “25 twists,” “70 braids,” and “50 locks.” And, you know, these could all have more than one meaning! A lock could be a lock of hair, but it could also be the kind of lock you open with a key. Think about what the other words remind you of. Could they have more than one meaning too?
If the woman in this piece could speak to you, what do you think she would say?
What would you say to her?
