The Destruction of Two Cultures: Slave Ship
Item
Title
The Destruction of Two Cultures: Slave Ship
Description
This assemblage, a piece integrated with related work "Mass Grave," primarily features a structure built with concrete brick, wooden board, and metal railings. Wooden boards are laid across stacks of concrete bricks so that they are lifted off the ground, staging an interactive slave ship that uses the ruins of the basement of a previous house as the ship's hold. Visitors are invited to walk across the boards as Minter demonstrates the sounds of the captain of the slave ship, gesturing to those slaves below who could hear happenings on the deck. Meanwhile, Minter says while sitting in the chair installed on the deck, the captain would "deaf their eyes to all that moaning" below. Metal railings are constructed around the raised wooden boards, wrapped throughout the structure with heavily oxidized steel chains. These chains are featured on both the front and back side of the structures railings, and have working gloves and boots interwoven with and attached to them. The metal framing of an office chair sits on top of the wooden boards. Leading off of the central focus of the piece, the metal railings established around the wooden structure continue behind the "Slave Ship," surrounding the related work "Mass Grave" that is assembled there. Along the metal railings are numerous signs representing a wide variety of themes. The most prominent sign attached to the railings is one painted on a broken piece of white metal, non-completely painted black with the label "SLAV / E SHIP USA" written in large yellow letters. Two other signs reside along the railing near this one. One of these is a red wooden sign constructed in the shape of a horseshoe, with the left board reading "NATIVE AMERIC," the right board reading "AFRICAN," and the connecting center board reading "KNOW THYSELF," all written using white paint. The other reads "GOD FREE US / THY WILL / BE DONE" and is written in faded yellow paint on a thoroughly weather wooden board. On the other side of the railing, separated from these signs by "Mass Grave," is another sign painted on a piece of white metal which is attached to the railing itself. This sign reads "GOD HEAR OUR CRY SAVE ALL OF US" with each word alternating between being written in red or black paint. The front of the "Slave Ship" is heavily adorned with various signs and items; items which include a pair of purple, teal, and pink water skiis, as well two foam wave boards, one red, one blue, but both featuring sharks. Starting from the right and moving across the front of the "Slave Ship," the first sign featured from this angle is a tall wooden sign painted white, with the the words "RIGHT to" written in black paint, and "VOTE" in red paint. Beside this is a wooden sign constructed in the shape of a cross, which reads "AFRI / CA MOTHER LAND OF" along the vertical post and "ISRAEL ETHIOPIA EGYPT" along the horizontal post. All words are written in yellow paint, and the vertical post has been painted with colors of African flags: red, black, green, and yellow. Two wooden signs are placed between the pair of water skiis, both featuring messages written in yellow paint. One of these signs, attached to the railing, reads "SLAVERY IS HOLOCAUST." The other, situated on a wooden board below, read "LOST FREEDOM / AGONY / MISERY / DEATH." The last sign attached to the piece, on the far left of the front side, is featured on a weathered piece of white metal and reads "WE WILL OVERCOME," written with black paint and red paint in the word "WE." Standing over the entirety of the piece is an American flag on a flagpole, which is damaged and torn along the edges.
According to Minter, "They got dead human beings on top of each other and it's an African moaning down there. If you could go back and hear the African moaning inside the ship. All of the moaning, the loss of freedom, the misery, the agony and pain at the bottom of the ship"
Subject
Assemblages (sculpture) See all items with this value
Transatlantic slave trade See all items with this value
Creator
Minter, Joe
Language
English
Type
Assemblages (sculpture) See all items with this value
Format
found objects
wood
metal piping
steel chains
gloves
boots
metal wheels
metal plating
wires
rope
bicycle wheels and spokes
office chair framing
golf clubs
american flag
bricks
water skiis
wave boards