Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955)

While wandering aimlessly through the David Zwerner Gallery in Chelsea, I had a hard time trying to find a piece of art that spoke directly to me. However, when I turned the corner into the third white cube, there he was. He was tall and strong, his dark skin shiny with an obsidian gloss. Immediately, I know he is a slave. His straw-colored, coarse garments indicate that he was most likely a field worker. This man is also holding a bloody axe. Although this man is the star of the painting, there is a startling crime scene behind him. There is a door broken off of its hinges and streaks through it, as if he fought his way into the room with the axe. The bed he is standing in front of has white sheets that are disheveled, and a white man who was presumably murdered by the man holding the axe. The blood of the ivory man is scattered everywhere and trails from the pale white sheets to where the man holding the axe is standing. A closer look at the painting will reveal that the deceased man does not appear to be fully there. Only his decapitated head on the pillow. By the shadows casted on the man and furniture, and the dark undertones in the room it is transparent that this attack was done at night. The man in the bed was most likely the slave master, indicating that this attack was premeditated. The black man didn’t seem to be looking at me, but rather through me, as if he was in a trance. He just finished what he set out to do and it released a weight off of him. Chopping someone’s head off, especially with such a clean cut, is not an easy thing to do. Howbeit so, he also looks as if he has more work to do. The mission is not accomplished.

Before I did further research and discovered that this was a “Portrait of Nat Turner With the Head of his Master”, I already felt a weird sense of connectedness with the main character of this painting. This is more than just an illustration of him killing his master, but a message. The oppressed shall be oppressed no more and eventually they will fight back, with a vengeance.

This painting seemed very out of place. This was the darkest painting in the room. The other paintings in the room were mainly about European conquest and abstract concepts. Therefore, I was very thrown off when I saw this painting in the corner. The other people in the room who stopped to look at it did not stay for very long. Because this dark painting was placed in such a luminous room, with bright colored paintings and a white wall, it brings a sort of sullen tone to the room. In a room full of colors and happy thoughts, no one wants to stare at a painting that reminds us of the war we continue to face between black and white.

Often dubbed as the best city in the world, New York City is filled with nothing but surprises. That’s why, when I was driving across town with my mother on the way to the FDR drive, I was was astonished at what I saw. In front of NYU Langone’s Children’s Hospital was the cutest dog I had ever seen. Not only was he cute but he was colossal. This 38 foot tall statue of a sitting Dalmatian, approximately rising to the height of a three story building, was perfectly balancing a yellow taxi cab on its nose. Enclosed in a patch of grass, the dog was so huge and realistic, as if it was superbly trained to do this trick in the middle of all hustle and bustle going on around it.

 

“SPOT” by Donald Lipiski

Having this statue placed directly in front of the children’s hospital gives visitors a warm welcome and a feeling of playfulness as they come into a rather unsettling place. This dog is toying with an actual Prius, as if it is a ball given to it by its owner. If this dog was placed anywhere else in New York City, like in a park or a museum, the observer would undoubtedly still be in awe of its size and realistic features. However, because it is in front of a hospital, especially a children’s one, the viewer’s admiration and appreciation for such a warm, fuzzy work of art is enhanced. Having experience with visiting ill family members and loved ones in hospitals, I know personally that facilities such as these can make people nervous, uncomfortable, anxious, and just bring up bad memories. This sculpture sets a precedent for tone of the facility, lighthearted and fun, as much as a hospital can possibly be.  A child coming in to a scary place with a huge dog out front may feel just a tad bit better about going in, since dogs are often used to help relieve stress. This black and white animal is the epitome of fun and happiness, a stark contrast to the painting I described above.