<I>Untitled (Triple Consciousness)</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2022
name: label: Created by
content: Rico Gatson, American, born 1966
notes: label: Caption
content: Rico Gatson has used abstraction to explore Black experience in America in both subtle and more overt ways. The title of Untitled (Triple Consciousness) references W.E.B. DuBois’ theory of double consciousness, in which Black Americans see themselves in relation to both Black culture and White society. Triple consciousness expands this idea to include the intersection of these two perspectives with gender, specifically addressing Black women. In the spring of 2023, the Social Justice Billboard Project displayed Untitled (Triple Consciousness) as one of the billboards facing George Floyd Square in Minneapolis.
label: Description
content: Untitled (Triple Consciousness) by Rico Gatson. This acrylic and glitter painting on wood features three overlapping concentric circles that resemble targets. The rings of the concentric circles are painted in bright colors that include yellow, orange, green, lavender, red, purple, brown, and sky blue. The outermost rings of the left and right concentric circles are black glitter while the center circle has a plain black outer rim. Each of the three concentric circles also feature a black glitter ring towards the circles’ centers. The circles’ rings are mostly similar in thickness with some thinner and wider rings interspersed. At the center of each concentric circle is a solid colored circle with purple at the center of the left circle, sky blue at the center of the middle circle, and green at the center of the right circle. Where the circles overlap, the overlapping rings change colors. The concentric circles are set against a white background with thick, even, brightly colored vertical stripes interspersed with black stripes. At the bottom right corner of the verso is the artist’s signature and date written in black ink that reads [RG22].
place: label: Place made
content: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
label: Place purchased
content: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Gender
label: Topic
content: Identity
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2023.81.2
objectType: label: Type
content: acrylic paintings
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Rico Gatson
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acrylic paint and glitter on wood with metal
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 35 13/16 × 80 × 1 3/8 in. (91 × 203.2 × 3.5 cm)