Harvard Art Museums

One of the most striking juxtapositions of artwork and person in LaToya Hobbs's woodcut series “Carving Out Time” occurs in the third scene, where Hobbs’s self-portrait in profile harmonizes with the screenprint “Senufo” (1981) by artist Valerie Maynard (1937-2022). Hobbs’s profile echoes and amplifies the profile of Maynard’s figure; the two rhyme across the upward diagonal, drawing the viewer into the work and towards the family dinner table. Maynard was a teacher, designer, printmaker, and sculptor. Like Hobbs, Maynard especially excelled at techniques of carving on immense scales; in the late 1970s, she completed two fourteen-foot-tall bas relief murals carved in wood for Baltimore’s City College. Though not the result of carving, “Senufo” communicates the dimensionality of a piece of wood in its striated lines and curving contours. The artwork’s title references the Senufo linguistic group of West Africa. Senufo languages are prevalent at the intersections of present-day Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mali; Senufo artists are particularly noted for their rich sculptural tradition. Asked about the intention and purpose of her art, Maynard stated: “My sight has been honed by ancestors and family long before me. I take responsibility for my life and experience in the here and now by forming an aesthetic I hope speaks to the seriousness of my message and hopefully my audience sees the irony, wit, and humor along with the cutting edges of my work.” See “LaToya M. Hobbs: It’s Time” at the Harvard Art Museums through July 21, and follow this series to learn about the inspiring artists whose works Hobbs incorporated into “Carving Out Time,” on view through July 21. ✍️ by Nora Rosengarten, Ph.D. Candidate, History of Art and Architecture