<I>Color(ed) Theory: Ultrasheen </I>
date: label: Date
content: 2014-2016; printed 2020
name: label: Photograph by
content: Amanda Williams, American, born 1974
notes: label: Caption
content: Statement from the artist:
label: Caption
content: “From 2014-2015 Amanda Williams created a contemporary art project called Color(ed) Theory. Amanda covertly and without permission, painted empty houses in and around Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood that were slated for demolition. She developed a unique, culturally coded, monochromatic color palette based on hues found in primarily in consumer products marketed toward Black people along commercial corridors on Chicago’s South Side. The project emphasized how colors have socially constructed associations that are inextricably linked to race and class. The series explored how academic and theoretical definitions of color map across veiled language used in American media/popular culture to describe racially charged city spaces. What color is urban? What color is gentrification? What color is privilege? Williams then photographed each house, calling attention to the architectural details as well as their isolated context.”
label: Description
content: A digital print color photograph of a blue painted house within a wintry city landscape. The blue house appears on the left side of the image, sitting in a snow-covered, overgrown lot. The image has been captured from the street in front. The clapboard dwelling appears to be one and a half stories, with four straight sides and a peaked, gable style roof. There is an enclosed entryway on the right side, also with clapboard siding and a gable style roof, with a small wooden porch and stairs leading down to the ground. There is a horizontal rectangular window on the first floor and a matching, but slightly smaller window on the second floor. Both windows and the entryway have been boarded up. On the left side of the building is a white square with a red "X," the only elements of the structure not covered with blue paint. There are several bare winter trees next to and behind the house. Behind the house on the left side is a small yellow house and behind the house on the right side are several single-level, industrial style buildings, along with a dumpster and a pile of scrap lumber. The sky is grey and snow is lightly falling. On the verso in graphite is the photographer's signature and inscription: [Amanda Williams 2014-2016 / COLOR(ED) THEORY: ULTRASHEEN / Edition of 10].
place: label: Place depicted
content: Englewood, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Advertising
label: Topic
content: Architecture
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Beauty culture
label: Topic
content: Black geographies
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Design
label: Topic
content: Housing
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Race discrimination
label: Topic
content: Urban life
label: Topic
content: Urban planning
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: Color(ed) Theory Suite, 2014-2016
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Classification
content: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, purchased through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.36.2
objectType: label: Type
content: digital prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Amanda Williams
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on photographic paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (sheet): 22 × 30 in. (55.9 × 76.2 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 20 × 28 in. (50.8 × 71.1 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (matted): 30 × 36 in. (76.2 × 91.4 cm)