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Object of the Week

Little Big Girl, Leamon Green, Jr.

Little Big Girl, Leamon Green, Jr.

September 15, 2014

Object of the Week
By: Hayden DeBruler ‘17

Standing in front of Little Big Girl, by artist Leamon Green, Jr., an acrylic and silkscreen work in the Infinite Mirror exhibit, I am decidedly drawn towards the keys laid out underneath the little girl’s feet, index fingers following her gaze, pointing towards me, making me out to be the lock—the answer to her presence. She is still, but not starched, like the printed sculptures on either shoulder; one figure is Greco-Roman, while the other recalls African sculpture and primitivism. She stands between the two columns which only serves to muddle her individuality. She is as patched as the pastiche that lies behind her, hands flaying their fingers to own the patterns. The entire work reaches out, asks for a name. Am I the heiress to this Corinthian crown, a flourished column? But do not be mistaken, her lips are not parted, she is not expecting an answer, knowing already the viewer is her only judgment, subject to change, fumbling for a different key each time. The answer to her identity, and to our own, is not within the work, but what kept us asking—as reflection of her—for so long.

Hayden DeBruler is from Greenville, South Carolina. DePauw Class of 2017, Creative Writing and Art History Major. She is a volunteer with the Peeler Art Center Galleries.

Infinite Mirror is developed by Artrain, Inc. and Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, PA and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC. Presented with support from the Institute of Museum & Library Services and the National Endowment for the Arts.