Freedom

Whitfield Lovell creates his assemblages from worn wallboards and floorboards that he finds in old houses and barns. He then draws life-size portraits of anonymous African Americans in charcoal, which he bases on 19th- and 20th-century tintypes, photographs, and postcards that he discovers at flea markets and antique shops. The artist describes these figures as “poignant, familiar images…stand-ins for my own ancestors. These people were defining themselves through their ability to own and define their own space.” With its juxtaposition of the man and gun, Freedom raises questions about the status and position of the man depicted. Does he use the gun to defend his own liberty or do others use the gun to stifle his freedom?

2002.14