Presentness And Pastness In Ellen Gallagher's Work

“This double-voiced character of Gallagher’s imagery is conscious and strategic,” claimed by the author, Judith Wilson, who works as an assistant professor of art history and of African American studies at Yale University. In terms of “double-voiced character”, Wilson meant the two quintessential dimensions of Ellen Gallagher’s work, namely presentness and pastness. In the essay, Wilson examined a slew of Gallagher’s paintings, and came to conclusion that Gallagher is aware of the power of presentness that make imageries endure beyond the limitations of their historical origins or rationales; simultaneously, Wilson saw Gallagher’s willingness to make the pastness within her work remembered by her viewers. For instance, in Untitled (Doll’s