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RACE IS THE PLACE

Gallery: Race as Art

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Race as Art: Gallery

View a selection of work by artists featured in RACE IS THE PLACE.
Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger image and slide show.

Faith Ringgold

A smiling African American man stands bent over in a field of cotton, his arms are spread open over a family of field workers — a man, woman and baby — kneeling in the dirt. The baby has a golden halo around his head. Other African American faces peer out of the mounds of cotton; the entire image is framed by a colorful quilt border. An African American man, a blond white woman and a white man in a striped tie link arms behind the stars and stripes of the American flag. The red stripes of the flag are bleeding. The African American figure holds his right hand over his heart, where red bleeds from one of the stripes. Naked African American figures float in the ocean with arms raised in a desperate appeal to an African American Statue of Liberty. She holds an African American child and a smoking torch. A ship burns in the background, as the yellow and orange sun sets over the water.

Ben Sakoguchi

In the vein of orange crate label art: A realistic, sepia-toned portrait of a Native American in ceremonial dress and holding a large feather, juxtaposed with a bright bushel of oranges on a yellow background. “Atlanta Braves” is scrawled in cursive alongside a red tomahawk. Below a round seal with a cartoon image of Native American Chief Noka-Homer are the words “Indian Wells, California.” In the vein of orange crate label art: On the left, oranges on a blue-sky with an exaggerated stereotypical cartoon of a grinning Japanese man in a white and blue-striped hat. The words “Work Crappy” float in a black cloud. Below, it says, “Jap Happy Brand.” On the right, an eagle soars over California clutching an orange in its talon. Light beams from the orange, along with cameras, televisions and cars. In the vein of orange crate label art: A smiling Asian man in a bamboo coolie hat holds a sharp stake piercing a juicy orange. He has a Fu Manchu mustache and wears a red shirt. He stands under a row of dark green leaves and the words “Yellow Peril Brand” and “China Lake California.” There are green fields, a yellow sky and a range of snow-capped mountains behind him.

Enrique Chagoya

Superman’s face is superimposed with text under the title “Border Patrol.” On the right, several figures are drawn in black on a blue background — one in a sombrero and four Asians with yellow faces. There are yellow, red and black dots, and a white drawing of a spaceship in the foreground, the words “Human Contraband” are underneath. Three main figures: a dark tiki head on the left with a drawing of an eye above it, a colorful, abstract tapestry of a knight on a horse and a smiling skeleton in Mickey Mouse ears and a tuxedo. Superman tears off his Pilgrim clothes as he turns to face an Aztec warrior covered in ceremonial dress and holding a pointy stick and shield. There are two blank cartoon bubbles coming out of Supermanšs mouth.

Michael Ray Charles

Take off on an Andy Warhol screenprint: Elvis wearing blackface stands in a gunslinger pose wearing a red shirt and brown pants, and an empty holster A take-off on the classic “American Gothic” painting depicts a slight, wide-eyed man in black face in a apron and buttoned up collar stands next to a mammy wearing a red, bandana and holding a broom, a large piece of watermelon hangs in the background. A barefooted Mickey Mouse-outfitted body with a Sambo head, with plump, red lips, nappy hair and white-gloved hands is whistling and high stepping.

Betye Saar

At the center of this piece is a mammy is framed in white. She smiles, holds pointer finger in “We’re number one!” sign. Below mammy is written, “Best for domestic use.” In background, image of a snow-covered house in Currier and Ives tradition over which is written, “Gone are the days.” A red tray with a nappy-haired little Sambo girl stands in tall weeds eating a slice of watermelon in front of a yellow sun. A google-eyed stick figure in a hat and bow tie stands to her left. “Picaninny Free” is written on the tray. A 3-D box: Three lists of barely legible grocery items are pinned to a board. Each list has a mammy scratching her head at the top, asking “We Wants Today?” “We Needs?” and “Oh! I Needs?” The word “EQUALITY” Is printed across all three lists.

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