Details

Title

Pyramid

Artist/Maker

Eldren M Bailey (American, 1903–1987)

Date

1970s

Medium

Concrete, plastic beads, pennies, jewelry, buttons, wood

Dimensions

11 × 12 3/4 × 12 1/2 inches

Credit

Museum purchase, and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection

Accession #

2017.30

On View

On View - Stent Family Wing, Skyway, Gallery 404

Eldren M. Bailey constructed an outdoor sculpture garden in Southwest Atlanta filled with monumental bleached concrete sculptures that ranged from renderings of political figures to the crucifixion of Christ. Pyramid is a memorial sculpture dedicated to a woman Bailey knew. The pyramidal form—inlaid with stones, costume jewelry, and pennies—functions as a memory jug where the adornments allude to the legacy of the deceased. Bailey’s use of pennies can be traced to the African American tradition of affixing currency to graves, which was believed to bring good fortune.

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