Freedom
Artist
Whitfield Lovell
(American, b. 1959)
Date2001
MediumCharcoal on wood with rifle
DimensionsOverall: 56 x 36 in. (142.2 x 91.4 cm)
ClassificationsContemporary art
Credit LineGift of Paul and Susan Hirschbiel, Fran and Lenox Baker, Ashlyn and David Brandt, Roger and Marion Johnson Lidman, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick V. Martin, Dr. Robert and Judy Rubin, Edwin Epstein, Susan R. O'Neal, Lynn and Wayne Goodman, Ann Dearsley Vernon, Mrs. J. Paul Reason and Museum purchase
Object number2002.14
Terms
- African-American Artist
- Civil Rights
- Guns
- Wood
- bullets
- Brown
- Black
Collections
On View
Not on viewLabel TextWhitfield Lovell American, b. 1959 Freedom, 2001 Charcoal on wood with rifle Whitfield Lovell creates his assemblages from worn wallboards and floorboards that he finds in old houses and barns. He then draws life-size portraits of anonymous African Americans in charcoal, which he bases on 19th- and 20th-century tintypes, photographs, and postcards that he discovers at flea markets and antique shops. The artist describes these figures as “poignant, familiar images…stand-ins for my own ancestors. These people were defining themselves through their ability to own and define their own space.” With its juxtaposition of the man and gun, Freedom raises questions about the status and position of the man depicted. Does he use the gun to defend his own liberty or do others use the gun to stifle his freedom? Gift of Paul and Susan Hirschbiel, Fran and Lenox Baker, Ashlyn and David Brandt, Roger and Marion Johnson Lidman, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick V. Martin, Dr. Robert and Judy Rubin, Edwin Epstein, Susan R. O’Neal, Lynn and Wayne Goodman, Ann Dearsley Vernon, Mrs. J. Paul Reason, and partial Museum purchase from the Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. Art Purchase Fund 2002.14
