On the same day we went to the MoMA to see Charles White’s art, I also explored other floors. One giant painting in the middle of a hallway caught my eye. Below are notes I took on  the “American People Series #20” painting at MoMA:

• Eyes are centerpiece of the painting – frenzied, terrified, bulging
• Shows whites and blacks being slaughtered in the painting – there is a message regarding racism using this contrast
• A white child and a black child are hugging each other in terror – symbolizes unity in times of fear?
• Could also be a piece about gun violence (as shown by the person holding the gun on the right)
• Characters seem to be replicated – the white woman wearing an orange dress is seen being held at gunpoint while also running away holding a child by the head; there is a short-haired blonde man seen holding the gun, with another version bleeding on the floor, and another falling in the arms of a black man; etc.
• The gunman is standing next to a black woman, and their childhood versions are the children hugging on the floor
• Everyone is in business attire – could be a shooting at a workplace

This art piece is called “American People Series #20” by artist Faith Ringgold. According to the placard next to the piece, the piece depicts the race riots in the U.S. in the 1960s. The characters are seen in business attire because Ringgold wanted to show that racism permeated every part of society – including high-end, educated business environments. I was drawn to this painting by how startling and unexpected the gore and violence depicted in it was. The eyes especially were haunting and wild – Ringgold captured raw fear so well that I tore my eyes away from the painting almost immediately. The painting captures so many issues ranging from racism to gun violence and effectively communicates the chaos associated with purposeful killings.

I noticed that Ringgold used an interesting technique of replicating characters in the same scene. Duplicates are seen in different positions and actions, but they all share the same terrified faces and body language. The gunman and the woman next to him on the right are also depicted on the floor as childhood versions of themselves, holding each other close in fear. The children symbolize innocence and are one of the several interactions amongst the characters. Others include the woman running away with the child and the black man holding the collapsed gunner. Everyone seems to be connected in a complex web of a story, but it is difficult to decipher relationships or motives within the painting.