<I>Flower Memorial Pee Chee</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2017
name: label: Created by
content: Patrick Martinez, American, born 1980
label: Subject of
content: Jordan Edwards, American, 2001 - 2017
label: Subject of
content: Joaquina Valencia, American
label: Subject of
content: Justine Ruszczyk, Australian American, 1977 - 2017
notes: label: Caption
content: Flower Memorial for Pee Chee illustrates the tragic effects of police brutality for three individuals—Jordan Edwards, Joaquina Valencia, and Justine Ruszczyk.
label: Caption
content: Edwards was 15 when he was killed by a police officer in Balch Springs, Texas, while sitting unarmed in a car with four friends. The officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Valencia was wrestled to the ground in Riverside County, California, and arrested for selling flowers without a vendor’s license. She sued the County Sheriff’s Department, claiming she was unlawfully targeted because of her race. Ruszczyk, an Australian American, was shot and killed by a police officer after she called 911 to report the possible assault of a woman in an alley behind her house. The officer was found guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
label: Description
content: A painting depicting the scene of the violent arrest of flower vendor Joaquina Valencia in the center, with vignette portrafits of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards and Justine Ruszczyk. In separate incidences, police officers shot and killed both Edwards and Ruszczyk in 2017.
label: Description
content: Against an orange background, the center scene depicts an armed and uniformed officer violently kneeling on Valencia as she lays on the sidewalk amid scattered rose flower petals. There is blue pen ink on top of the flower petals. At top left, a smiling Edwards is depicted from the shoulders up with a garland of pink and red roses around his neck. Just below him is a red circle with lettering reading [Pee Chee / ALL SEASON /PORT-]. At bottom right is a smiling Ruszczyk encircled by a garland of red and pink roses. Both flower garlands are composed of rose stickers adhered to the painting. Thin red lines run along the left side of the painting from top to bottom, behind the image of Edwards and the Pee Chee sign. On the verso is the artist’s signature [Martinez/17] in black paint.
place: label: Place made
content: California, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Police brutality
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 2001-
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: Pee Chee
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: Black Lives Matter
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Anonymous Gift
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2019.100
objectType: label: Type
content: collages
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Patrick Martinez
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acrylic with ink and stickers on wood panel
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 60 1/16 × 47 5/8 × 2 5/8 in. (152.6 × 121 × 6.7 cm)