Created by
Wallace, Herman, American, 1941 - 2013
Subject of
Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, American, founded 1835
Date
after 1972
Medium
(a): graphite on paper (fiber product)
(b), (c): ink paper (fiber product)
Dimensions
H x W (a): 8 7/16 × 1 1/8 in. (21.5 × 2.8 cm)
L x W (b): 8 × 11 in. (20.3 × 27.9 cm)
L x W (c): 8 × 11 in. (20.3 × 27.9 cm)
Caption
Wallace was an avid chess player. The collection includes homemade and mass produced chess boards and pieces. He wrote that he saw the game as a powerful humanizing force which helped him and fellow inmates use their minds towards a positive and productive pursuit. Wallace used the game to strategically inspire camaraderie, eliminate violence, and establish a network of empowerment, entirely lacking in an environment purposefully inhumane and hopeless.
Description
A hand-drawn paper chess board (a), the two-page contextual story of “The Chess Tournament” (b) and (c), created by Herman Wallace while incarcerated at Angola Prison. The black-and-white shaded chess board (a), sketched on a large white paper, features a handwritten number for each of the 64 squares drawn. The first page of "The Chess Tournament" (b), 132 and 133, printed with black text across two columns, outlines the results of Herman’s 34 cent chess tournament. The second page (b), 134, concludes the thoughts from the first page, with a black-and-white graphic design collage depicting two hands shaking and a young man with his head held up, surrounded by various chunks of sentences. The pages were printed on January 24th 2003.
Place used
Angola, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
Collection title
Herman Wallace Archival Collection
Classification
Toys and Games
Type
chess sets
make-dos
Topic
American South
Communities
Men
Mental health
Prisons
Recreation
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Maria Hinds
Object number
A2018.36.1.12.2abc
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5bf705aad-2e64-46b3-91c3-3ccf8a95141a

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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