On View
Visual Arts Gallery
Exhibition
Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Created by
Stevens, Nelson, American, 1938 - 2022
Subject of
Turner Crawford, Arlene, American
AfriCOBRA, founded 1968
Date
1970
Medium
acrylic paint on canvas
Dimensions
H x W x D: 50 × 50 × 2 in. (127 × 127 × 5.1 cm)
Caption
Arty is the centerpiece of Nelson Stevens’s triptych, Unity, and was inspired by the archetypal Christian altarpieces from the Byzantine era. Stevens replaced the traditional white religious figures with an image of a young Black woman. To elevate African Americans to a position of reverence and respect, he painted this composition using the technique of forced perspective: the viewer occupies a position of supplicant, or child, looking up to what Stevens calls the “hero’s position.”
Stevens was a founding member of the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists, or AfriCOBRA, a collective formed in 1968 to create uplifting art relevant to Black communities. His triptych was displayed in the group’s first exhibition, AFRI-COBRA I: Ten in Search of a Nation, in Harlem in 1970.
Description
This is an abstract acrylic painting depicting a woman from the neck up. Done in a color palette of red, orange, blue, and purple, the woman's form is made up of clusters of rounded and abstract pools of color. Viewed slightly from below, she faces forward and gazes upward.
Classification
Visual Arts
Movement
BAM (Black Arts Movement 1965-1976)
Type
acrylic paintings
portraits
Topic
Activism
Art
Associations and institutions
Christianity
Identity
Professional organizations
Religion
Women
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2016.73
Restrictions & Rights
© Nelson Stevens
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd591fce4d5-cf44-40ac-90f9-618341612a89

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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