ACQUISITION: John Outterbridge

John Outterbridge. Case in Point, from the Rag Man Series, c. 1970. Mixed media, 12 x 12 x 24 in. (30.5 x 30.5 x 61 cm).
Image  via  hammer.ucla.edu.

The Hammer Museum has acquired a major work by John Outterbridge. Case in Point (c. 1970) is featured in the Hammer’s travelling exhibition Now Dig This! Art & Black Los Angeles, 1960-1980. Assembled from leather and other materials and closely resembling a bag of grenades, this work communicates intense feelings about Outterbridge’s experience of being ushered to the back of a bus in 1955 despite his being in full army uniform. With Case in Point, Outterbridge confronts the all-too-common reality of racism that African Americans experienced at home after serving the country abroad in the Korean War.

Now Dig This! Art & Black Los Angeles, 1960-1980 will be on view at the Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown Massachusetts (July 20 - December 1, 2013).

YouTube: John Outterbridge Interview 

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