{"data":{"id":"29086","type":"artwork","attributes":{"id":29086,"topgoose_id":3913,"portfolio_id":null,"tms_id":29086,"title":"Witness","display_artist_text":"Kiki Smith","display_date":"1994","accession_number":"2006.120a-d","dimensions":"Dimensions variable","medium":"Phosphorus bronze and white bronze","department":"collection","classification":"Sculpture","credit_line":"Gift of The American Contemporary Art Foundation, Leonard A. Lauder, President","is_virtual":false,"is_portfolio":false,"portfolio_tms_id":null,"portfolio":null,"edition":"Unique in a series of 4 and 1 AP","publication_info":"","description":"\u003cp\u003eKiki Smith, \u003cem\u003eWitness\u003c/em\u003e, 1994. Phosphorus bronze and white bronze, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The American Contemporary Art Foundation, Leonard A. Lauder, President 2006.120a-d. © Kiki Smith, courtesy of Pace Gallery, N.Y.\u003c/p\u003e","object_label":"\u003cp\u003eOriginally titled \u003ci\u003eFour Hands and Eyes\u003c/i\u003e, Kiki Smith’s sculpture \u003ci\u003eWitness\u003c/i\u003e consists of four bronze hands, placed side by side in a line, each cradling a single eye in its cupped palm. The artist, however, has stripped each eye of its external structure, choosing only to depict the muscles working underneath the surface. By reducing the human body to these two forms, Smith emphasizes the function of each, while simultaneously creating a new association between these traditionally disparate body parts. These four similar but irregular objects also evoke the rhythms and repetitions found throughout the body—its heartbeat, molecular structure, and symmetry. By recontextualizing basic forms of the human body, Smith hopes to compel her viewers to examine their own bodies in new and unexpected ways, thus offering a unique and participatory experience with her work. The artist’s decision to change the title to \u003ci\u003eWitness \u003c/i\u003eupon its entry into the Whitney’s collection amplifies the sculpture’s sense of ambiguity, and may further reflect her desire to activate the relationship between her work and its audience. Eager to discover who is the witness, or indeed, what is being witnessed, the viewer is encouraged to more closely examine Smith’s unusual juxtaposition of human forms. \u003c/p\u003e","ai_alt_text":"Four small metal star-shaped artifacts mounted on rust-colored bases on a white pedestal.","alt_text":null,"visual_description":null,"on_view":false,"created_at":"2017-08-30T15:48:02.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-02-06T11:59:41.783-05:00","images":[{"id":108090,"url":"https://whitneymedia.org/assets/artwork/29086/2006_120a-d_vw1_cropped.jpg"}]},"relationships":{"artists":{"data":[{"id":"3383","type":"artist"}]}}}}