Artist
Marcel Taylor
Title
Pick Up Sticks
Date2020
MediumAcrylic and mixed media on canvas
Dimensions30 × 40 in. (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Framed Size: 33 1/2 × 43 1/2 in. (85.1 × 110.5 cm)
Framed Size: 33 1/2 × 43 1/2 in. (85.1 × 110.5 cm)
Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Art Bank Collection
Object numberDCCAH2021.041.2
ClassificationsPaintings
Locations
Martin Luther King, Jr. Library (901 G St NW)
DescriptionTaylor’s work seeks to capture the instability of urban centers and the communities that endure urban renewal processes. The layers in his work remind us of the stratified nature of urban neighborhoods. On one hand, the interplay of acrylic paint, transparent paper, photographic collage, and house drawings symbolize dynamic and lively urban neighborhoods, conveying human diversity and cohesion. On the other hand, these elements can indicate unchecked urban renewal and gentrification efforts. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the laying bare of inequities within the criminal justice system, the debris-like shapes and piercing lines represent the destabilization of society, and abstracted protest signs indicate the uprisings of 2020.
