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Paddleboard

Artist Julie Blackmon (American, born 1966)
Date2022
MediumInkjet print
DimensionsImage: 31 3/4 × 43 1/8 inches (80.65 × 109.54 cm)
Sheet: 35 3/4 × 47 1/8 inches (90.81 × 119.7 cm)
Framed: 36 5/8 × 48 1/8 × 2 1/16 inches (93.03 × 122.24 × 5.24 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of the Beckett Art Purchases Fund in memory of Samuel and Ethel Beckett
Object number2022.37
SignedOn frame backing board, upper left, white label with black pen: "Paddleboard, '22 / #9/10 Julie Blackmon [signature]"
InscribedOn backing board verso, upper left corner, white label with black type: "HAW/CONTEMPORARY / 1600 LIBERTY STREET KANSAS CITY, MO 64102 / Julie Blackmon (b. 1966) / Paddleboard, 2022 / archival pigment print / ED 9/10 / 35.75 x 47 in (90.8 x 119.4 cm)"
MarkingsOn backing board verso, bottom center, clear label with black type: "DOLPHIN FRAMES / 1600 Liberty St, KCMO 64102 / 816.569.3139 / www.dolphinframes.com"
Edition/State/Proofed. 9/10
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionImage of a pregnant woman standing, in profile, on a paddleboard in the middle of a lake. She's dressed in a long blue skirt, tank top, and straw hat. At the front of the paddleboard, a young boy dangles his legs in the water. Lush green trees fill the upper left corner and reveal a cloud filled sky as you move across the horizon.Gallery Label
A pregnant woman stands steadfast as she steers an overloaded paddleboard along a river. Her young son dangles his feet off the board as a shark’s fin slices through the water, suggesting both imagined dangers and, symbolically, the real-world social politics that shape modern motherhood. In Julie Blackmon’s vision, this mother appears heroic, maintaining an impossible balance amid the threat of her surroundings.
Rooted in Springfield, Missouri, Julie Blackmon often takes inspiration from paintings: George Caleb Bingham’s Fur Traders Descending the Missouri of 1845 directly informed this work, which is set on the Finley River.
Provenance
Julie Blackmon;
Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO, 2022;
Purchased from Haw Contemporary by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2022.
Copyright© Julie Blackmon
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