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SFMOMA

Martin Puryear "C.F.A.O."

Martin Puryear "C.F.A.O."

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From: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Limited Edition: 20
Exhibition: Martin Puryear
Material: Printed vinyl
Dimensions: 35" x 72" (88cm x 182cm)

Hanging Hardware Included

Summary

Speaking of interlocking materials, check out Martin Puryear's sculpture, C.F.A.O. Interestingly, Puryear named this piece after a late 19th century trading company: Compagnie Francaise de l'Afrique Occidentale. Puryear's Peace Corp experience in Sierra Leone, one of the ports of call for the trading company, and his time in France clearly influenced his work. This sculpture suggests themes not only of trade and colonization, but cultural exchange between vastly different societies. Twenty banners from this retrospective at San Francisco MOMA are available to bring Post-Minimalism to your space.

Description

Martin Puryear’s work often blends seemingly disparate cultural, historic and social references resulting in blurred definitions of time and space. The sculpture featured on the banner promoting this exhibition is C.F.A.O. It shares the name of a late 19th century trading company called Compagnie Francaise de l’Afrique Occidentale (The French Company of West Africa). For this sculpture, Puryear drew on his Peace Corp experience in Sierra Leone (1964-6), one of the ports of call for the trading company, and his time in France (1993). This piece suggests themes not only of trade and colonization, but cultural exchange between vastly different societies.

Puryear is a student of “vernacular cultures,” where people live close to their sources of materials and are motivated to make things for their utilitarian value, not just their artistic beauty. Often defying characterization, Puryear distills his interests in such diverse subjects as ornithology, natural history, architecture and the history of technology.

C.F.A.O., 2006-7, is made from painted and unpainted pine and mounted on a wheelbarrow Puryear found in Sache, France while studying with Alexander Calder in 1993. The mask is Puryear’s oversized interpretation of the 19th century ceremonial masks used by the Fang tribe of Gabon, West Africa. As a headdress of sorts, the mask is supported by a scaffolding of interlocking pine boards.

The banner features the sculpture on one side. The opposite side is printed with maroon-brown text: "SFMOMA" at the top in an outline box, "Martin Puryear" in capital letters (sideways vertical) with "Nov 8 – Jan 25" below.

Provenance

These banners were displayed around San Francisco from November 8, 2008 to January 25, 2009 to promote the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Martin Puryear. The exhibit began touring in November of 2007 first at the Museum of Modern Art, followed by the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the National Gallery of Art and finally the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition charted the artist’s career from his first solo show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1977 to the present.

About the Artist

Learn more about Martin Puryear

 

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