Idelle Weber
Doorway Madonna, 1960-62
Hand-cut plastic, silver mylar and color-aid paper
65.1 x 52.7 cm
25 5/8 x 20 3/4 in
25 5/8 x 20 3/4 in
Copyright The Artist
Doorway Madonna (1960–62) is a collage in black and silver portraying the silhouette of an elegant figure in a long dress. Powerfully posed, the confidence and glamour conveyed in just...
Doorway Madonna (1960–62) is a collage in black and silver portraying the silhouette of an elegant figure in a long dress. Powerfully posed, the confidence and glamour conveyed in just a few cuts of material conjures a whole world. The work suggests the Art Deco glamour of speakeasy bars in 1920s New York, an era of Prohibition where nightlife went underground and different communities mixed. The image could well have been inspired by later jazz clubs of the 1950s and '60s and Weber's time in New York, where she relocated in 1957. The figure in the dress might be a performer, hostess, or customer – and with their monochrome silhouette the gender of the figure is also left ambiguous.
