Plague Mask 2
Date2020
Artist
June Julian
(American artist and educator, born 1947)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions32 × 24 in. (81.3 × 61 cm)
frame: 33 1/4 × 25 1/4 in. (84.5 × 64.1 cm)
frame: 33 1/4 × 25 1/4 in. (84.5 × 64.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist, 2022
Object number2022-11
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextJune Julian works in a multidisciplinary approach, exploring our relationship with the environment. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Julian turned to the subject matters of disease and climate change. She looked to an historical reference—the Black Death in Venice, Italy and the masks sometimes worn by 17th-century plague doctors. The grim shape overlays a scene of the Acqua Alta, the tide peaks in Venice that have become higher and more frequent. The cloud-like fumes across the composition reference the fragrant herbs that were stuffed into the mask’s long beak and Julian’s concern for the swirling confusion about COVID-19. A native of Delaware, Julian received her doctorate degree in art. She has taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Julian has published extensively on her research in art and art education, and she recently launched Art Intendo©, a creative enterprise for worldwide art collaborations.
