An American Experience
Anonymous
Plaster, sharpie, newspaper, and acrylic on canvas
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This piece is meant to communicate the overwhelming experience of African Americans in the United States. On top of common struggles such as finance and work, African Americans are constantly reminded that they are at a disadvantage in this country’s system. This group faces racial barriers, police brutality, and other injustices daily. Reactions to these issues include code-switching and attempting to assimilate to white peers in modern times. The fact is African Americans are not and have never been truly free and safe in their country. I know that I personally will never truly understand how hard it is for Black Americans, however I wanted to try and emulate the feelings that I have read about in my piece. I started the process earlier this school year by reading Jean-Michel Basquiat and taking note of the common features in his works. Additionally, I wanted to incorporate different materials into this painting and experiment with texture. To accomplish this I used plaster to outline the shape of a head and pasted newspaper onto the canvas. I used many coats of acrylic paint to achieve a layered look that is meant to convey concepts of complexity and depth. I chose to use a lot of red as a symbol for blood spilled and surrounding the African American experience. Finally, I added details inspired by Basquiat such as words reminiscent of the civil rights movement and small lines around the head using a sharpie.
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To me, creativity allows for inspiration. Creativity involves taking in the world around you and making something not necessarily new, but different from what anyone has seen before. If artists never built upon concepts many masterpieces would never have been created.
