<I>Section</I>
date: label: Date
content: May 2020
name: label: Designed by
content: Demar Matthews, American
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Woman or Women
notes: label: Caption
content: As Black residents are forced out of their neighborhoods by rising housing prices (a result of gentrification in Los Angeles), architectural designer Demar Matthews wanted to center his designs on what he dubs “Unearthing the Black Aesthetic.” This digital illustration is an extension of Matthews' project “R Cloud House.” Prospectively sited in Watts, the 700 square foot structure is imagined as a maker space to be shared, with a community kitchen with access to fresh fruit and vegetables. The form of R Cloud House is inspired by the “shotgun” style house used by Black residents of New Orleans and the project's façade takes pattern inspiration from box braids and waves. The roof itself, and its representations in Matthews' renderings like this one, resemble a crown, calling attention to the significance of the person who wears it - in this case, a Black person for whom the design is made.
label: Description
content: A digital image of an architectural rendering titled "Section." It consists of a single JPEG file (.jpg). The image's background is gold with a light emanating from the top left corner toward the bottom right. A woman donning an afro, hoop earrings, and spaghetti strap blouse occupies the center of the image. Her head, tilted upwards, is only partially visible as the interior cross section of a building sits atop it. Its interior is mostly white with the exception of a few parts that are blue and an area on the wall that has a blue, gold and black pattern. There is a large white cupboard as well as smaller storage spaces that are both gray and brown. Eight (8) white frames occupy the wall on the right side of the room. Five have black borders, two yellow and one orange. The asymmetrical ceiling is lowest in the middle, highest at the edges, and features exposed white beams. A man wearing an orange turtle-neck shirt, brown pants, and white sneakers can be seen in the middle of the room, illuminated by the beam of light. He wears a wristwatch on his proper left hand and carries a backpack over his shoulder. Dimensions depicting the total height of the building at various points and the width are also included in the rendering.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Architecture
label: Topic
content: Black geographies
label: Topic
content: Design
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Rendering Visible
label: Classification
content: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Demar Matthews
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2022.106.3
objectType: label: Type
content: renderings
label: Type
content: digital images
label: Type
content: digital media - born digital
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Demar Matthews
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: digital
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 6000 pixels × 6000 pixels
label: Dimensions
content: File size (Total): 11.27 MB