<I>Confrontation 28A and 28AA</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1966
name: label: Created by
content: Merton Daniel Simpson, American, 1928-2013
notes: label: Caption
content: In 1963, painter and arts activist Merton Simpson joined the artist collective, Spiral, as a founding member. This African American artist collective was established in part to improve the position and agency of Black artists and people in American society. Two years later, he participated in Spiral’s only art exhibition. His contribution to the show became the genesis of his Confrontation series.
label: Caption
content: “I’m painting what I think I see: ugly people fighting ugly people,” Simpson says. “I see wrongness on either side. I just think that it’s an ugly thing. I want to paint it as that. And I think if people can see it, and frown upon it enough, it might make them think, ‘Am I really a part of this? Then I should want to do something about it.’”
label: Description
content: A diptych of two (2) oil paintings in an abstract expressionist style, featuring white and black faces depicted in thick brushstrokes and bold shapes with strong, swirling lines covering the canvases in a palette of black, red and tan. Each canvas is shadowbox framed and displayed in landscape orientation.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Abstraction
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: Confrontation
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: Civil Rights Movement
label: Exhibition
content: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 052
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Partial gift of the Estate of Merton Simpson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.175ab
objectType: label: Type
content: oil paintings
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Estate of Merton Simpson
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: oil on canvas
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (28a): 39 1/2 × 59 1/2 × 1 in. (100.3 × 151.1 × 2.5 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (28b): 39 1/2 × 59 1/2 × 1 in. (100.3 × 151.1 × 2.5 cm)