Images(2)

Vertigo

Artist Bob Trotman American, born 1947

Date2010

MediumWood, tempera, and wax

Dimensions89 x 89 x 32 in. (226.1 x 226.1 x 81.3 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineCommissioned with funds from Nancy S. Reynolds and Dr. and Mrs. James Marion Pickell, by exchange

Object number2010.3

On View

On view

Label TextVertigo references numerous cultural touchstones simultaneously: Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film, German author W. G. Sebald’s 1990 novel, and a photograph created by Yves Klein in 1960 entitled Leap into the Void. However, the piece holds a special place in Trotman’s oeuvre: it is his self-portrait.

Vertigo, a term that connotes a physical sensation of dizziness or reeling, may also refer to an emotional sensation triggered by anxiety or fear. As in many of Trotman’s works, multiple readings are possible: a literal fall from a great height, a metaphorical fall from grace, an off-balance sensation related to the act of plummeting, or an emotional reaction to a disturbing event.
[L. Dougherty, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]
ProvenanceThe artist; sold to NCMA, 2010.Published ReferencesLinda Johnson Dougherty, "A Home for North Carolina Art," in North Carolina Museum of Art Preview (Winter 2010), mentioned 17, artist with preliminary sketch illus. (color) 16.

Linda Johnson Dougherty, "Bob Trotman: Inverted Utopias," in North Carolina Museum of Art Preview (Fall 2010), briefly discussed 9, illus. (color) 9 (in progress).

Linda Johnson Dougherty, et al, Bob Trotman: Inverted Utopias (exhibition catalogue) (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2010), discussed 39, 43, illus. (color) 40, 41, 90, illus. (color) 62, 63 (in progress).

North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection," (Raleigh, NC; North Carolina Museum of Art, 2024), illus. (color) 149.Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Bob Trotman: Inverted Utopias," November 7, 2010-March 27, 2011; Hickory, NC, Hickory Museum of Art, April 24-June 26, 2011.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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