But I'm Still Fly
- On View
- Visual Arts Gallery
- Museum Maps
- Objects in this Location
- Exhibition
- Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
- Created by
- Dr. Pecou, Fahamu, American, born 1975
- Date
- 2014
- Medium
- acrylic paint , copper and zinc on canvas
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 120 × 60 × 2 in. (304.8 × 152.4 × 5.1 cm)
- Caption
- “Grave representations of Black men act like a force of gravity, restricting their mobility. We meet Black youth with fear and loathing, limiting their potential with tragic stats and stories of death. But I’m Still Fly offers an alternative narrative, one that locates the tension between aspiration and limitation. … This piece asks: What if we believed in the abilities of our Black boys more than we lamented their identity? What if we taught them that they could transcend their so-called limitations? What if we encouraged them to fly?” — Fahamu Pecou
- Pecou’s painting features the fashion trend “saggin,” where underwear is worn above sagging pants. The style was popular among younger African American males and often perceived by others as a negative marker of social status.
- Description
- An acrylic painting on canvas with copper and zinc leaf. The painting depicts the lower torso and legs of a young man jumping upward. His torso and arms, mostly out of frame, are bare. He is wearing several overlapping pairs of underwear, jeans that sag to mid-thigh, and green high top shoes. The man's right hand is holding up his jeans, and his left arm is lowered by his side in a fist. Gold leaf sheets applied to the canvas surround the figure, and two (2) sheets of gold leaf are burnished on the man's figure at his hip. The gold leaf extends to cover the edges of the canvas.
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Type
- acrylic paintings
- Topic
- Art
- Fashion
- Identity
- Men
- Resistance
- Youth
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.69
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Fahamu Pecou
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.