A drawing of a man in a suit on weathered wood with an attached wooden wheel on the bottom.

(My) Precarious Life

Artist Whitfield Lovell (American, born 1959)

Date2008

MediumConté crayon on wood and wooden wheel

Dimensions74 3/8 × 38 3/8 × 2 1/2 inches (188.9 × 97.5 × 6.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by a group of anonymous donors.

Object number2015.1.3

On View

Not on view

Copyright© Whitfield Lovell / Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label Text(My) Precarious Life shows a well-dressed man balanced unstably on the edge of a broken wheel. With this simple pairing of a single object with a single portrait, Whitfield Lovell opens the door to a variety of possible narratives. Although the portrait was based on a found photograph of an unknown figure from the past, the artist considers this work to be a type of self-portrait. Despite this specificity, it conjures feelings—of being subject to the whims of the world and barely balancing one’s responsibilities—that could apply to anyone.

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