Gary Simmons’s unique and complex work consists of bold, dynamic line drawings set against broad expanses of pure, flat color and rendered on large chalkboards or directly on the wall, often at enormous scale. Simmon’s signature works feature a striking “erasure” effect, which he achieves by first executing a given image to completion and then smearing it with his hands, partially expunging the image and imbuing it with a somewhat sinister quality.
Simmons has long referenced film, architecture, and American popular culture in works that address personal and collective memories of race and class. Stardust Marquee is a black-on-black drawing that represents the outdoor marquee of the Stardust Drive-in. It is part of a body of work Simmons has dubbed “Midnight Matinee,” which features images of drive-in theater marquees and infamous houses from classic horror films. Simmons’s use of black paint on black paper and his smearing of the paint as a form of erasure emphasize the passing of the all-but-extinct drive-in movie culture.
Identification
Title
Stardust Marquee
Production Date
2009
Object Number
2009.20
Credit Line
Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, museum purchase with funds provided by PAMM’s Collectors Council