Created by
Sánchez, Juan, American, born 1954
Subject of
Unidentified Man or Men
Unidentified Woman or Women
Meeropol, Abel, American, 1903 - 1986
Holiday, Billie, American, 1915 - 1959
Brown, John, American, 1800 - 1859
Date
2005
Medium
mixed media: oil paint and acrylic paint on wood panel
Dimensions
H x W x D: 74 × 72 × 2 in. (188 × 182.9 × 5.1 cm)
Description
This is a mixed media collage by Juan Sánchez as a tribute to his ancestors. The collage is placed on a wood panel which was first laid with a gray, textured background. Covering the gray background are large, red circles, resembling blood drops or platelets. Inside each red circle is an image of Sánchez’s baby daughter crying.
In the center of the collage is a large and wide blue/green cross comprised of photographic postcards of lynchings. A thin, orange cross is layered over the larger cross. At the intersection of the cross is a dark blue frame with gold accents. Framed within is an inversed color U.S. flag – with a red canton and black and green stripes – and two eyes at the center. Multiple black oil pastel circles were drawn around the frame and intersection of the cross.
The top and bottom thirds of the collage contain lines of green handwritten text occasionally with blue text layered over. This handwritten text goes over the blue/green cross but doesn’t go past the black, oil pastel circles. At the top of the wood panel is the phrase “The strange and bitter crop of American culture” handwritten along the top border of the collage in green and blue against an orange strip. Underneath is handwritten green text with handwritten blue text overlayed. The blue text here are stanzas from “Strange Fruit,” the 1937 poem by Abel Meerpol and later sang by Billie Holiday. At the bottom third, the stanzas of “Strange Fruit” are handwritten in green. Overlayed in handwritten blue text are some of the final written words of abolitionist John Brown.
Portfolio/Series
Cries and Wounded Whispers
Classification
Visual Arts
Movement
Nuyorican Movement
Type
collages
multimedia works
Topic
Activism
Art
Christianity
Families
Lynching
Poetry
Race discrimination
Race relations
Religion
Slavery
United States History
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center
Object number
2021.71.1
Restrictions & Rights
© Juan Sánchez, Guariken Arts Inc
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd50e06817c-d85e-4376-9ca4-a1b02f5fcdca

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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