{"id":84045,"date":"2024-08-29T16:25:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T16:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/?p=84045"},"modified":"2024-08-29T16:38:25","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T16:38:25","slug":"close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/","title":{"rendered":"Close Encounter: Well Prepared and Maladjusted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When you visit the exhibition Holding Ground: Artists\u2019 Books for the National Museum of Women in the Arts<\/a><\/em>, on view through October 20, take a moment to explore a painting newly nestled amid the intricate and inspiring artists\u2019 books. Examine the figure\u2019s posture, facial expression, attire, and surroundings. What strikes you? How would you describe the colors that you see? How might this person be feeling? What questions would you pose if you could?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In
Amy Sherald, Well Prepared and Maladjusted<\/em>, 2008; Oil on canvas, 54 x 43 in,; On loan from a private collection; \u00a9 Amy Sherald; Photo by Ryan Stevenson; Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Something Borrowed<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The painting, on loan to NMWA through September, is Well Prepared and Maladjusted <\/em>(2008), by Amy Sherald<\/a> (b. 1973). Sherald considers it a pivotal work in her career, and it began with a chance encounter. When Sherald met her subject, the artist was working in Baltimore, and the model was a curatorial intern at the city\u2019s Walters Art Museum. Drawn to her height, hairstyle, and overall look, Sherald chose to depict the woman in the outfit she was wearing that day. According to Sherald<\/a>, \u201cShe was 6\u20193\u201d and had on this polka-dot outfit from a second-hand store . . . I saw my story in her.\u201d While Sherald painted, a poet wrote about her work as part of a program through the Studio Museum in Harlem. Once they were both done, Sherald found the perfect title for the painting from the poem\u2019s lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While at NMWA, Well Prepared and Maladjusted <\/em>joins Sherald\u2019s They Call Me Redbone, but I\u2019d Rather Be Strawberry Shortcake<\/a> <\/em>(2009), a 2012 acquisition currently on view in the museum\u2019s collection galleries. Would it surprise you to know both artworks were inspired by the same woman?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paintings began with color photographs taken by Sherald, who documented the model in various costumes. When translating the image to painting, the artist included two of her hallmark techniques: she painted the skin in shades of gray, and she removed the background, which focuses viewers\u2019 attention on the figure by eliminating references to time and space. Sherald is often asked, \u201cwhy gray?,\u201d and she acknowledges that her answer to the question has transformed over the years. In part, it is a reflection on the history of photography. For Sherald, the invention of the camera and the accessibility of black-and-white photography represent a turning point: Black people could create their own images and control their stories widely for the first time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well Prepared and Maladjusted <\/em>shares key qualities with Sherald\u2019s more recent work, but her artistic evolution is clear in subtle shifts, such as a move away from the textured backgrounds seen here toward flatter planes of color. Still, the core of her work remains the same. Sherald has said<\/a>, \u201cMy mission as an artist really hasn\u2019t changed, to put more complex stories of Black life in the forefront of people\u2019s minds and on the walls of museums. I think that\u2019s what I want to continue to do . . . take up space and reclaim time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Associate Educator Ashley Harris delves into the work of Amy Sherald through a painting on loan through September. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[1200],"class_list":["post-84045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artist-spotlight","tag-amy-sherald"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nClose Encounter: Well Prepared and Maladjusted | Broad Strokes Blog | National Museum of Women in the Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Close Encounter: Well Prepared and Maladjusted | Broad Strokes Blog | National Museum of Women in the Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Associate Educator Ashley Harris delves into the work of Amy Sherald through a painting on loan through September.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"National Museum of Women in the Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/womeninthearts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-29T16:25:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-29T16:38:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sherald_AT_blog.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alicia Gregory\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sherald_AT_blog.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@womeninthearts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@womeninthearts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alicia Gregory\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/\",\"name\":\"Close Encounter: Well Prepared and Maladjusted | Broad Strokes Blog | National Museum of Women in the Arts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sherald_AT_blog.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-29T16:25:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-29T16:38:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a7013e5d47b0a5ef5cc624cfbf1562b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/blog\/artist-spotlight\/close-encounter-well-prepared-and-maladjusted\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sherald_AT_blog.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nmwa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sherald_AT_blog.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1267,\"caption\":\"Amy Sherald, Well Prepared and Maladjusted, 2008; 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