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| Dread Scott, Burning the US Constitution, 2011. Pigment print, 2.21 x 1.67 ft. Image appears on cover of Sculpture courtesy of the artist. |
Dread Scott: Radical Conscience
Text | A.M. Weaver
Excerpt:
Dread Scott’s edict is make “revolutionary” art -- to propel history forward.” Since the early 1990s, after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and completing the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program, Scott has joined the ranks of historical/political artists, following in the footsteps of John Heartfield, George Grosz, and Leon Golub, along with his activist contemporaries Ai Weiwei, Nari Ward, and Berry Bickle. By using his work to raise awareness of social injustices, Scott makes clear his intention of challenging the status quo. He employs irony and humor to make powerful statements pertaining to pressing issues, including freedom of speech on a global level, state-level violence against citizens, class inequality and racially motivated oppression.
In Scott’s lexicon, the phrase “by any means necessary” means deploying performance, installation, collage, and painting to convey his ideas and ideology. without being didactic, he convincingly articulates the concerns of marginalized communities across America -- the incarcerated, urban youth, and the 99%.
To read complete text for “Dread Scott: Radical Conscience” pick up a copy of the July/August 2015 issue of Sculpture magazine, on newsstands now.
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