<I>Black Elevation</I>
date: label: Date
content: May 2020
name: label: Designed by
content: Demar Matthews, American
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
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 "Black Elevation." It consists of a single Portable Network Graphics file (.png). The image's background is a pale orange with a large beige circle in the middle. Lines with concentric ovals and rectangles occupy the circle. At the center of two of the ovals, there are smaller yellow circular shapes with wave-like exteriors. A black and white photograph of a shirtless man standing in profile occupies much of the image's center. He wears a gold earring in his proper left ear, while a translucent yellow flower is digitally added to his lips. A digital rendering of an asymmetrical building, reminiscent of a crown, sits atop the man's head. Some of its walls feature concentric circles and squares, similar to the ones in the large brown circle. A gold symbol, like the yellow ones in the large circle, occupies the center of each of the concentric circles. The building’s roof, like its walls, is asymmetrical with peaks and ridges.
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: 2022.106.1
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: File size (Total): 21.05 MB