Elizabeth Catlett

African woodcarving as well as pre-Hispanic and Mexican stone and ceramic sculpture have all provided inspiration for Elizabeth Catlett. Since the 1940s, she has used abstract form rather than realistic representation in her figurative prints and sculptures. Her investigation of the face, which she considers a key to racial identity and a record of human experience, also dates from that period. Singing Head belongs to a series begun in 1968, that features heads expressed in terms of sleek planes, undulating contours, and somber vitality.