Created by
Rucker, Rashaun, American, born 1978
Date
2020
Medium
graphite and paint on paper
Dimensions
H x W x D (frame): 32 1/8 × 26 × 2 3/8 in. (81.6 × 66 × 6 cm)
H x W (work): 23 3/4 × 18 in. (60.3 × 45.7 cm)
Caption
Rashaun Rucker is best known for his work dealing with Black male identity and social conditioning. In his Psychological Redlining series, he merges portraits of African American men with images of rock pigeons. Rock pigeons are generally viewed as urban, unclean nuisances. Rucker asserts that people perceive Black men much the same way—essentially pigeonholing them psychologically into a space where they don’t belong. The red cages framing each portrait relates to redlining, a systemic real estate policy demarcating communities of color by red lines on a map to limit access to home loans, insurance, and even grocery stores. Rucker says he created these images to “communicate why we as Black men often don’t fly, even though we have the ability to go far and beyond our circumstance.”
Description
This is a mixed media portrait of a man with a pigeon emerging from the top of his head, framed within a red frame in the shape of a birdcage. The graphite portrait shows the man from the neck up. He faces front with a very slight turn of his head towards the viewer’s right-hand side. His gaze is directed slightly to the right. There are two birds emerging from his head, shown from the chest up. The on the right faces forward. The one on the left turns its head and leans slightly towards the other bird. Its head is in profile to the viewer. The portrait is enclosed in a frame of red paint creating a birdcage with a rounded top. The two sides consist of thin red lines while the bottom is a wide red line. The top of the “cage” is a dome created by numerous narrow red lines that come together at the center top. At the top is a flattened round finial with a length of chain emanating from it. The artist's signature "Ruck" appears along the man's neck.
Place made
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America
Portfolio/Series
Psychological Redlining (13 Studies)
Classification
Visual Arts
Type
multimedia works
portraits
Topic
Art
Identity
Men
Mental health
Race discrimination
Stereotypes
Urban life
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Partial gift of Arthur Primas and Jumaane E. N’Namdi and museum purchase.
Object number
2023.107.10
Restrictions & Rights
© Rashaun Rucker
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5addba885-86c0-4661-9aaf-6ac6fb6bcf47

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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