"Heard But Not Seen" Screen

Wendell Castle

1989–90 · Italian poplar, gesso, aniline dye, and acrylic paint · Modern and Contemporary Art

This screen is from a suite of furniture inspired by the classic German Expressionist horror film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1919); the stark, angular sets created disconcerting warped perspectives, heightening viewers' fears and anxiety (its title is an unsettling play on silent movies, in which characters are seen but not heard). Castle, one of the foremost woodworkers in the post-World War II American studio craft movement, furthers the disorienting, nightmarish quality of this sharply angled, planar screen by offsetting its blue-black painted decoration which evokes the look of the black-and-white film.

Artist

Wendell Castle

Date

1989–90

Medium

Italian poplar, gesso, aniline dye, and acrylic paint

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Gift of Peter T. Joseph, 1998