<I>Militant</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1996
name: label: Created by
content: Benny Andrews, American, 1930 - 2006
notes: label: Caption
content: Benny Andrews is best known as an artist, educator, and activist. Militant is an excellent example of Andrews’s interest in placing themes of social justice into his art. His image of a man on bended knee recalls the figure of an enslaved man, bound in chains, designed by Josiah Wedgwood during the 1780s for the Society for the Abolition of Slavery. Titled “Am I not a man and a brother?” the image became a rallying cry for the abolitionist movement.
label: Caption
content: In Andrews’s contemporary version of Wedgwood’s image, the figure is swathed in two American flags. By doing so, he evokes themes of African American patriotism while challenging the notion that Black Americans are unworthy of enjoying the full benefits of being United States citizens.
label: Description
content: A collage work depicting a kneeling figure with pieces of the United States flag. The figure is shown as a silhouette of cut out paper, painted in in tones of black and grey. The figure kneels on one knee with a hand raised, possibly with an open palm. The head appears to be tipped back with the face upraised. A three dimensional scrap of the American flag hangs from the back of the head with another piece of the flag draped between the figure's legs and trailing behind.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: Langston Hughes series
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Benny Andrews Estate and Foundation by courtesy of UNCF
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2016.148.7
objectType: label: Type
content: collages
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Benny Andrews Estate / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Permission required for use
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: oil on paper (fiber product) with adhesive and cloth
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (image): 29 3/4 × 22 9/16 × 3/8 in. (75.5 × 57.3 × 1 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (frame): 37 3/8 × 29 3/4 × 1 3/8 in. (95 × 75.5 × 3.5 cm)