NARRATOR:  

Natural and spiritual subjects intermingle with striking power in this 1947 work by Wifredo Lam. On a burlap surface the artist employs rich green and black tones to link his diverse interests in African and Caribbean sculpture and European painting.  

NARRATOR:  

Janet Bishop, Curator of Painting and Sculpture.  

BISHOP:  

The figure with the small head at the very top of the composition- a sort of wide-eyed, open-mouthed, horned creature, whose limbs and body descend and completely wrap around the bird form. To me, it reads in some ways like a totem pole. The figures are stacked on top one another.  

NARRATOR:  

Lam’s own mixed cultural background is a fascinating aspect of his work. The artist was born in Cuba, the son of an eighty-year old Chinese merchant and a mother of African descent. Lam was also a world traveler who crossed artistic boundaries. He spent a good deal of time moving between the very different cultures of Cuba, Europe and the United States. The artist even stated that he cherished his rootlessness.