Injustice Case by David Hammons

Bobby Seale was accused of being part of a group that had planned to protest and riot during the 1968 Democratic Convention. During Bobby Seale's court case, he was shackled and gagged to keep him from talking. This was a direct contradiction to the right everyone living in the United States should be given according to the first amendment, which gives everyone, regardless of race, freedom of speech. It was Seale's trial that inspired David Hammons to create Injustice Case.

David Hammons was born in 1948 in Springfield, Illinois. Hammons is known mostly for his body print work, which used "the body as a paintbrush and grease as paint" (Sirmans, “Recent works by David Hammons at LACMA”).

His work is widely recognized for presenting "social and political issues in blunt terms" (Anason & Mansfield 584). Hammons never sugarcoated his stance on political issues in his work, but always presented them in a very honest and straightforward manner.

Injustice Case depicts the reality many African Americans experienced living in America during the late 1960’s and early 1970's, when discrimination ran ramped in the culture. Even though America was founded on freedom for all, during the 1960's and 1970's not everyone experienced equal rights and freedoms.

Although vast measures were beginning to take place to protect African Americans from discrimination, many of them were still treated differently solely based on race. In fact, some were treated so terrible, it went against the entire core values the United States was founded on. One such person was Bobby Seale.

Many of Hammons's pieces tackle controversial political issues in the United States, specifically racial discrimination. At the peak of Hammons's career racial issues were running ramped in the American culture which was part of the reason Hammons felt strongly about it and wanted to depict the injustice some experienced or felt living in the United States. Injustice Case is one of his more

well-known pieces during this time.

David Hammons,

Injustice Case

1970

Theme: Politics

Works Cited:

Arnason, H. Harvard. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977. Print.

Lewis, Femi. "37 Events of the 1970s." About.com Education. About, 26 Mar. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

Selz, Peter, and Susan Landauer. Art of Engagement: Visual Politics in California and beyond. Berkeley: U of California, 2006. Print.

Sirmans, Franklin. "Recent Works by David Hammons at LACMA." LACMA. N.p., 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

Injustice Case is a mixed-media print approximately 63 x 40.5 inches and currently resides in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The image is a negative photo of a political prisoner bound to a chair, with a gag around their mouth. The figure in the photo was inspired by the “widely circulated image of Seale executed by sketch artist Verna Sadock” (Arnason & Mansfield 584) during Bobby Seale’s trial. Surrounding the image is a frame of the American flag, “contrasting patriotic bunting with the American justice system” (Selz and Landauer 147).

Politics

Formal Analysis

In Injustice Case the primary element present is color. Because the work is a negative image, the colors are monochromatic. The use of monochromatic color conveys the feelings of agony and distress many experienced due to discrimination in America.

However, the frame, which is an American flag, is in color. The contrast between the frame and the image draws one’s attention to the color present in the frame, giving clarification about what the image is representing. Knowing the work is about America, the image becomes more personal to those who live in America, since it is obviously about the political issues that occur in the United States. The choice of color brings more emotion and expression to the work, playing with the emotions of one who might be viewing the work.

Injustice Case fits with the theme of politics in that it was the motivation behind why Hammons created this masterpiece. Hammons wanted to highlight the fact not everyone is treated equally in America. The piece was inspired by Seale's very controversial trial. Hammons questioned much of America's equality. This is evident in Injustice Case, which has the American flag surrounding the image of the political prisoner, connecting injustice to America. Many people were challenged by Injustice Case and the fact that “the positive associations usually evoked by the flag were challenged” (Arnason & Mansfield 584).

One of the dominant principles present in the work is focal point. The viewer’s attention is quickly drawn to the figure sitting on the chair. Immediately one can empathize with the agony of the individual. Hammons obviously wanted the viewer to connect with the image on a personal and sorrowful level, making sure nothing deterred or distracted from the primary purpose of the image.