<I>Strange and Bitter American History</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2005
name: label: Created by
content: Juan Sánchez, American, born 1954
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Woman or Women
label: Subject of
content: Abel Meeropol, American, 1903 - 1986
label: Subject of
content: Billie Holiday, American, 1915 - 1959
label: Subject of
content: John Brown, American, 1800 - 1859
notes: label: Description
content: This is a mixed media collage by Juan Sánchez as a tribute to his ancestors. The collage is placed on a wood panel which was first laid with a gray, textured background. Covering the gray background are large, red circles, resembling blood drops or platelets. Inside each red circle is an image of Sánchez’s baby daughter crying.
label: Description
content: In the center of the collage is a large and wide blue/green cross comprised of photographic postcards of lynchings. A thin, orange cross is layered over the larger cross. At the intersection of the cross is a dark blue frame with gold accents. Framed within is an inversed color U.S. flag – with a red canton and black and green stripes – and two eyes at the center. Multiple black oil pastel circles were drawn around the frame and intersection of the cross.
label: Description
content: The top and bottom thirds of the collage contain lines of green handwritten text occasionally with blue text layered over. This handwritten text goes over the blue/green cross but doesn’t go past the black, oil pastel circles. At the top of the wood panel is the phrase “The strange and bitter crop of American culture” handwritten along the top border of the collage in green and blue against an orange strip. Underneath is handwritten green text with handwritten blue text overlayed. The blue text here are stanzas from “Strange Fruit,” the 1937 poem by Abel Meerpol and later sang by Billie Holiday. At the bottom third, the stanzas of “Strange Fruit” are handwritten in green. Overlayed in handwritten blue text are some of the final written words of abolitionist John Brown.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Christianity
label: Topic
content: Families
label: Topic
content: Lynching
label: Topic
content: Poetry
label: Topic
content: Race discrimination
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: Religion
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: United States History
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: Cries and Wounded Whispers
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: Nuyorican Movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.71.1
objectType: label: Type
content: collages
label: Type
content: multimedia works
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Juan Sánchez, Guariken Arts Inc
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: mixed media: oil paint and acrylic paint on wood panel
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 74 × 72 × 2 in. (188 × 182.9 × 5.1 cm)