No Such Race On Earth
No Such Race On Earth
No Such Race On Earth
Artist (American)

No Such Race On Earth

Date2024
MediumMixed media
Dimensions40 x 32 in. (101.6 x 81.3 cm)
Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection
Object numberDCCAH2025.014
ClassificationsPaintings
Locations
  • Currently Not on View
DescriptionThis piece is emblematic of Curtis Woody’s career-long commitment to representing African-American cultural history through a research-based collage practice. No stone is left unturned in his research process, as he finds inspiration and collage materials in old books, poetry, textured wall papers, vintage photographs, period documents, dated buttons, old newspapers articles, historic fabrics, and contemporary music. Though grounded in a historical archive, the meaning of the attached elements often becomes clearer to Woody as the works are assembled. This approach results in a continual search for balance between spontaneity and historical relevance. The title “No Such Race on Earth,” refers to a quote from Rev. Austin W. Turner, found on a “printed wrapper” or dust cover for a pamphlet from the early 1900s calling for the end to use of the term “negro.” The wrapper reads “No such race on Earth as ‘Negro’ / this is a slave title / do not be a mental slave.” In his collage, Woody uses cropped photographs of a well-dressed African American woman and smiling girl child to refute negative representations of black people. Creating a border that resembles a quilt, he surrounds the pair with uplifting lyrics by African American Soul and R&B musical artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Sam Cooke, Donny Hathaway, India Arie.