Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Preview image of work. rubber tire and wood, Solitaire 24299

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Solitaire

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Artist

Chakaia Booker (Newark, N.J., 1953 - )

Title

Solitaire

Creation Date

2011

Century

early 21st century

Dimensions

33 in. x 36 in. x 13 in. (83.82 cm x 91.44 cm x 33.02 cm)

Classification

Sculpture

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

rubber tire and wood

Credit Line

Loaned by a Friend of the Museum

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

With a formal inventiveness that seems to have no bounds, Chakaia Booker mounts sliced rubber tires on wood backing into extravagantly beautiful sculptures. Solitaire, to be affixed to the wall, graciously extends into space and confidently takes possession of it. It engages the viewer into a far-ranging conversation: Rubber tires, for Booker, not only embody the quest for mobility and, implicitly, economic expansion, they also speak to matters of post-colonial ecological exploitation. Cast into tread patterns and marred by use on the street, the material communicates what could be understood as identities and personal histories. Booker has long been interested in African dance and Tai Chi Chuan and studied sociology at Rutgers, which might have contributed to her commitment to personal expression and provided interpretative models as well. “One must give oneself permission to create,” she explained in 2003, “In this culture, it’s difficult to be different.”