Alice Vase

11 x 14 inches
Oil on canvas
February 2011
SOLD

Description:
This painting, “Alice Vase,” is based on the optical illusion known as the Rubin Vase (or Rubin’s Vase), in which an image can be perceived either as a vase or as two human faces in profile facing each other. The composition uses this visual ambiguity as a foundation for a Deaf-centered visual pun and symbolic narrative.

The work references Alice Cogswell, whose likeness is primarily known through a historical silhouette, as there are no confirmed photographs, paintings, or drawings that clearly depict her appearance. That silhouette is preserved at the museum of the American School for the Deaf.

The sculptor of the well-known Gallaudet/Cogswell statue at Gallaudet University also used this silhouette as a reference for Alice’s image.

In this painting, the vase form is constructed through a Cubist approach, where shape and negative space shift between figure and symbol. The bouquet inside the vase is composed of American Sign Language fingerspelling spelling: A – L – I – C – E – C – O – G – S – W – E – L – L, transforming language into visual form.

The overall concept explores layered perception—how meaning can shift depending on how the viewer sees the image—while honoring Alice Cogswell’s foundational place in Deaf education and history.