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Open today 10:00–5:00

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Celebrating American art and artists

Join us as we explore 250 years of American creativity from across the nation.
Learn more
Exhibitions & Events
Featured exhibition:

Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris
Now on view
Art & Artists
Play Artle

Test your knowledge with a new puzzle every day.
Play now

WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT

2024

Jeffrey Gibson

Associated Names

Jeffrey Gibson

Artist, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians/Cherokee Nation, born 1972

This sculpture is a punching bag embellished with long fringe and geometric patterns made of colorful beads. The punching bag is hung from black straps which are attached to a long red rope with a silver hook. Most of the punching bag is decorated with triangle and diamond shapes created with small beads in bright colors such as blue, red, green, yellow, black, teal, and pink. Among these shapes are beaded words in bright white that appear to circle around the bag; visible to us are the words "HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO SELF." From the bottom of the bag, long, colorful strings hang in layers and pool on the floor, creating a colorful fringe. At the top are sections of blue and red fringe, and below them are sections of yellow and green fringe. The longest section of the fringe, which flows onto the floor, is black, red, yellow, and white. The ends of the long strings lay in a precise circle on the ground.

This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.

On View

East Building Mezzanine, Terrace

Artwork overview

Medium

glass beads, plastic beads, nylon fringe, nylon thread, acrylic felt, found punching bag
Credit Line

Gift of Funds from Reid Walker, Sasha and Charlie Sealy, Laurie Tisch Illumination Fund, and Janet Benton and David Schunter
Dimensions

overall: 312.42 × 38.1 × 38.1 cm (123 × 15 × 15 in.)
Accession Number

2024.59.1
Copyright

© Jeffrey Gibson Image: Max Yawney

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist; (Sikkema Jenkins & Co.New York); purchased 2024 by NGA.

Associated Names

Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Exhibition History

2024

60.Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte, La Biennale di Venezia, Stranieri Ovunque - Foregneirs Everywhere, June-November 2024, US Pavillion, no. 13, repro.

Bibliography

2024

Ash-Milby, Kathleen, Loius Grachos, and Abigail Winograd. The space in which to place me. Exh. brochure 60 Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte, La Biennale di Venezia, June-November 2024, US Pavillion, no. 13, repro.

2025

Donovan, Molly. "Gifts and Acquisitions. Jeffrey Gibson, WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT." _ Art for the Nation_ 70 (Summer 2025): 30-31, repro.

Inscriptions

beaded text around the cylindrical punching bag: WE HOLD/ THESE TRUTHS/ TO BE/ SELF-EVIDENT

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