Mestre Didi Sem título (Untitled) 1966

Identification
Title
Sem título (Untitled)
Production Date
1966
Object Number
2022.007
Credit Line
Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, gift of Allison and Larry Berg
Copyright
© Mestre Didi
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Physical Qualities
Medium
Palm trunk, painted leather, shells, and beads
Dimensions
25 3/8 x 17 5/8 x 3 1/8 inches
Visual Description
Sem título is a sculpture made by Mestre Didi in nineteen sixty-six. It is made of a palm tree trunk, painted leather, shells, and beads. It measures about twenty-five and three-eighths inches tall, seventeen and five-eighths inches wide, and just over three inches deep. It is displayed upright, meaning its tallest side runs from top to bottom. The main shape of the sculpture is a narrow, upright cylinder that looks like a tree trunk. The surface is covered with three wide horizontal stripes of painted leather. The bottom stripe is black, the middle band is turquoise, and the top band is white. Between these stripes, rows of small shells and beads are carefully arranged. The shells and beads form repeating patterns and shapes. These decorations run up and down the sculpture, following its tall shape. The shells and beads create different textures. Some areas feel smooth, while others feel bumpy or rough depending on the materials. At the top of the cylinder, several long, thin strands extend upward. One strand stays straight and points upward from the center. Two other strands curl into loops and reattach to the main trunk on each side, creating a balanced look. The strands are occasionally covered by the stripes of painted leather as well. There is also a longer strand that curls around twice but does not reattach. This strand hangs loose at the end and finishes with a pointed tip. Resembling the head of a snake. Two thinner strands also curl loosely and end in pointed tips. The overall shape of the sculpture looks like a tree without leaves, with a main trunk and branches curling at the top. Mestre Didi was an Afro-Brazilian artist connected to Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian spiritual tradition. His work often uses natural materials and symbolic shapes to represent spiritual ideas.
Mestre Didi
Mestre Didi — b. 1917, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; d. 2013, Salvador
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