Kerry James Marshall

BLACK POWER PRINTS, 1998
relief print
25.5 x 40 (5)
Edition of 5

In the "Black Power" prints, Kerry James Marshall features popular 1960s slogans that trace the civil rights movement printed in the red, black and green colors symbolic of black nationalism. These relief prints were printed as if from oversized rubber stamps, suggesting the power of rhetoric and words for mobilizing people during the Civil Rights Movement with incendiary rally cries that would soon become clichés. The slogans vary from "We Shall Overcome," the name of a hymn associated with the non—violent strategies of Martin Luther King Jr., to "Black Power," the title of the late Stokely Carmichael's black nationalistic manifesto. It is doubtful that these phrases could regain the potency they once had, especially now that they have been co—opted by popular culture and now turned into blue—chip works of art, widely desired by collectors and museums. (via http://www.gregkucera.com/individual_demographics.htm)