page_title: Black Vessel for a Saint
section_title: Commission
hierarchical_section_title: Black Vessel for a Saint / History / Commission
caption_attribution_description: English: Black Vessel for a Saint in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
context_page_description: Black Vessel for a Saint is sculptural piece commissioned and completed in 2017 by Theaster Gates for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The piece consists of a life-size statue of St. Laurence painted black and enclosed in a black cylinder, and served as Gates's first permanent outdoor commission.
context_section_description: In 2016, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden commenced a major renovation program designed to transform the current park into a more sustainable and "civic-minded" space, while simultaneously adding more works to diversify the representation of artists within the park. While the diversification focused on female artists in particular, Theaster Gates's previous work on renovation pieces in Chicago brought him to the Garden's attention as an artist exemplifying a "civic-minded" strategy. Within a year, Gates was commissioned to construct Black Vessel for a Saint, completing construction of the exterior just in time for the Garden's reopening on June 10th, 2017. As a deliberately meditative space, Black Vessel for a Saint was strategically placed near similar pieces like Kris Martin's Bell For Whom in order to cultivate an area of reflection and meditation. The piece's central component - a black statue of St. Laurence - was then inserted through the roof of the exterior vessel via a crane.
caption: Black Vessel for a Saint in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "SLT-A65V", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "350", "Image YResolution": "350", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "SLT-A65V v1.07", "Image DateTime": "2017:08:20 11:03:43", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "376", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[44, 58, 7767/500]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[93, 17, 9881/500]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "6477/25", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[16, 3, 44]", "GPS GPSStatus": "A", "GPS GPSMeasureMode": "3", "GPS GPSDOP": "2783/2500", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "277/500", "GPS GPSTrackRef": "T", "GPS GPSTrack": "15663/50", "GPS GPSMapDatum": "WGS-84", "GPS GPSDate": "2017:08:20", "GPS GPSDifferential": "0", "Image GPSInfo": "40014", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail ImageDescription": "", "Thumbnail Make": "SONY", "Thumbnail Model": "SLT-A65V", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail Software": "SLT-A65V v1.07", "Thumbnail DateTime": "2017:08:20 11:03:43", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "40652", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6926", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "11", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Landscape Mode", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:08:20 11:03:43", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2017:08:20 11:03:43", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "11497/1280", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "22", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "6000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4000", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "40360", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "33", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Landscape", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 55, 7/2, 28/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 SAM"}