Further explore the exhibition’s theme of semi-visibility through a slow-looking exercise related to this work.

Transcript
Narrator: This work by David Hammons from 1969 is titled "Close Your Eyes and See Black." The vertically oriented work is 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide. This work features an organic shape in dark pigment printed onto a vivid gold-plated paperboard background.

The dark shape fills the majority of the lower half of the work; and above it, filling the upper half of the work, is the rough form of an outlined diamond. Upon closer look, the dark lower shape is the printed torso of a man; its upper edge curves in the shape of a heart symbol where the upper body has pressed down. Printed along the lower edge of the work is the waistline of a pair of pants. The printed upper body displays detailed chest hair and nipples.
Above the torso, the printed diamond shape appears to be the man’s arms placed over his head, his wrists touching at the central upper edge of the work. These printed arms are oriented with elbows slightly bent outward as if lifted or raised high above one’s head.

A final element appears in the lower half of the work, where a Black man’s face is printed atop the center of the black torso. This face print appears to have lifted the black pigment of the torso beneath it. Thus, the detailed face print is defined by its vibrant orange-gold base surrounded by black, like a photographic negative. Hands are placed over the cheeks and eyes; a palm holds each cheek, and the fingers are cupped to cover the eyes. The hands rest above the printed nose, mustache, and close-lipped mouth. It looks like the man’s face is pressed onto a window. His expression is neutral, or unsmiling.

This work is an actual body print made by David Hammons in which he coated his skin, hair, and clothing with grease and pressed his body onto the paper, then dusting dark pigment onto the paperboard, which adhered to the greased sections. This recording of face, skin, and body is direct, capturing precise wrinkles on the skin and detailed strands of hair; the print simultaneously has a hazy, uneven, and crackly inked quality. Because it’s a composite of the body print and the face print, the arms from the smaller face print are coming out of the pants’ waistband. The fingers, nose, and lips glow brilliant and golden. Why do you think he covers his eyes in the face print? And why does that print sit within the body print? What does this multilayered body print say?

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