The Whistlers

Tip Toland

2005 · Stoneware, paint, pastel, synthetic hair · Modern and Contemporary Art

The almost-twin figures of two naked women facing each other are rendered with empathetic detail. One figure purses her lips and appears to be showing her companion how to whistle, her left hand slightly raised as if in tune with a rising note. The figure on the right mimics the expression and strains to follow, her left hand hovering as if to steady herself in the effort. An interest in representing the body in tenuous states of life has led Toland to focus on the ungainly bodies of the very young and the old, or, as the artist says, "to go after vulnerability . . . that’s where we find our humanity." The mirroring of these figures in form and countenance serves to echo this fragility.

Artist

Tip Toland

Date

2005

Medium

Stoneware, paint, pastel, synthetic hair

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Gift of Dale and Doug Anderson, 2011