Lorna Simpson Collages

Hair plays significantly in the work of Brooklyn artist Simpson, as poet Elizabeth Alexander notes in her introduction to this electrifying monograph of Simpson’s collages: “Black women’s heads of hair are galaxies unto themselves, solar systems, moonscapes, volcanic interiors. The hair [Simpson] paints has a mind of its own. It is sinuous and cloudy and fully alive. It is forest and ocean, its own emotional weather. ” The collages, reproduced one per page within, pair raw gemstones with photographs, mostly of black women, collected from vintage advertisements. The women’s hair are made up of the crystalline or shiny black stones, honoring the multidimensional quality of natural hair. The gemstone collages are presented as vintage scientific plates, the conglomerations of women and minerals. In the latter half of the book, the collages are simpler but equally as bold, each construction featuring a single cutout with hair rendered in flame or wave-like washes of paint. Simpson’s use of repeated motifs mimics the mass production of fashion magazines, and she occasionally includes snippets of phrases taken from the original ads where the images first appeared (“Put on your Afro pony tail and swish those superflies away!”). Simpson’s collages maintain an element of surprise and visual power page after page. Color illus. (Apr.)