chair with applied found objects including hoes, shovels, pick ax, wheels, cast iron pan, clothes iron, American flag, chains, padlocks, and metal ornaments

%C2%A9 Joe Minter %2F Artists Rights Society %28ARS%29%2C New York

Voyage in Chains, 2000

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"Voyage in Chains" is composed of old rusted metal tools —shovel, pitchfork, pickax heads, and a hoe—held together by chains. A crucifix, American flag and metal ship are also among the assembled parts, all sprouting from an old wooden chair. Minter began making art in order to "put a message...that could heal the wounds everywhere.” This piece is one of many has has made about the enslavement of African people in the United States. His work is driven by his desire to tell stories through the careful juxtaposition of objects, which grew from his epic construction of his "African Village in America,” a quarter-acre, densely packed sculptural environment built around his home that he began in 1989.

Details
Title
Voyage in Chains
Artist Life
born 1943
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2022.98.10
Curator Approved

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chair with applied found objects including hoes, shovels, pick ax, wheels, cast iron pan, clothes iron, American flag, chains, padlocks, and metal ornaments

© Joe Minter / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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