“Using silicone, plexi-glass, hair, and other materials, this piece focuses on Robert Smith and how perception alters our view on what we see. Smith is a philanthropist and one of the America’s wealthiest men but has still faced issues based on his skin color.
The hyper-realism of this work provides a point of entry, but, through a deliberate barrier, the texts limit the viewer’s access. This piece asks the viewer to question the reality of the sculpture and analyze societal perceptions of Black men.” – Mario Moore
![A multimedia sculpture of a man's head, his face hidden on either side with fogged plexiglass, etched with text that appears to read: [YOU] ONLY SEE W[HAT YOU] WANT TO S[EE].](https://menofchange.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/a7400b07-78df-459f-8129-94f9beb9db41.jpg)
Detroit native Mario Moore (b. 1987) lives in New York City. Moore received a BFA in Illustration from the College for Creative Studies and an MFA in Painting from the Yale School of Art. He has held artist residencies at Knox College, Fountainhead, and the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.
Moore’s work has been exhibited widely, is included in public and private collections, and has appeared in featured articles in the New York Times and other publications. Moore has had solo shows at the David Klein Gallery and the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art. His work is also included in Fired Up! Ready to Go! Finding Beauty, Demanding Equity: An African American Life in Art and the Studio Museum in Harlem’s catalog, Speaking of People: Ebony, Jet and Contemporary Art. Moore was awarded a Princeton Hodder Fellowship for 2018–2019.
[Robert Smith], 2017. Leah L. Jones. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.