Artist
Jo Ann Callis (American, born 1940)American, born 1940
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Bird in the Hat
Date1980
PlaceUnited States
MediumChromogenic print
DimensionsImage: 17 15/16 × 14 1/2 in. (45.6 × 36.8 cm)
Sheet: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
Mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
Sheet: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
Mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Allan Chasanoff Photographic Collection
Object number91.469
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographySpecial Collections
Object Type
as well as troubling, Jo Ann Callis’s Bird in the Hat features everyday
items presented in an extraordinary way. A kitchen table, hat, glove, cherries,
and stuffed bird are presented with off-kilter framing and harsh lighting.
Although each object is familiar, the collective narrative remains mysteriously
out of reach. Callis aims to bring her viewers to “a place of comfort and
discomfort.” She adds, “There is a parallel between the two in most everything.
I wanted to make work that represented that dichotomy.”
ProvenanceAllan Chasanoff, New York; given to MFAH, 1991.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed in pencil, recto, lower right of mat: Jo Ann Callis 1980
Inscribed in pencil, verso, on applied circular sticker bottom left corner: #07
Inscribed in pencil, verso, bottom left corner: 95
Signed in ink, verso, bottom right: Jo Ann Callis 1980
Inscribed in pencil, verso, on applied circular sticker bottom left corner: #07
Inscribed in pencil, verso, bottom left corner: 95
Signed in ink, verso, bottom right: Jo Ann Callis 1980
Signed in pencil, recto, lower right of mat: Jo Ann Callis 1980
Signed in ink, verso, bottom right: Jo Ann Callis 1980
Signed in ink, verso, bottom right: Jo Ann Callis 1980
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
