Kevin Beasley

The Road
2019

A black asphalt road cuts through a lush green hill and leads towards a glowing yellow sun outlined with a thick black circle. Yellow rays from the sun extend out into a blue sky. Two figures are situated in the field to the left of the road. The entire piece is intensely textured, created from mixed materials which include resin, Virginia soil, du-rags, rubber tires, and others.

Visual Description

Kevin Beasley’sThe Roadis a 96 × 120 × 10 inch mixed media “slab” sculpture, which feels monumental in scale. The long list of materials he used is as follows: polyurethane resin, raw Virginia cotton, Virginia soil, Virginia twigs, Virginia pine needles, house dresses, kaftans, t-shirts, du-rags, altered housedresses, altered kaftans, altered t-shirts, altered garments, altered tires, scarf, guinea fowl feathers, down feathers, copper, jewelry, shoelaces, mobile phone, burlap satchel, windshield wipers, altered African fabrics, socks, Timberland boots, aluminum, and steel. These materials are layered like a collage to create a vibrant scene of bursting colors and electric potential. Starting on the bottom left, an abstract figure wearing dark pants and an orange top stands next to another figure in dark pants and a dark shirt covered in white hearts. The clothes of the two figures were sourced from the artist’s family members. The two figures walk through fields of green that lie next to a dark road heading directly into the sunny horizon. In the fields, much can be assumed or presumed—shadows of animals, hints of other bodies, an accumulation of belongings, an abstracted sense of belongingness. Above the figures rests a bright sun emitting radial beams of orange, yellow, and white light. In the light of the sun are the silhouettes of birds flapping their wings. To the right of the sun is a sky composed of multiple blue hues where more birds fly. On the reverse side of the work, dyed black raw cotton and cut car tires trace the form of a car.

Created as a narrative relief – that is, the implementation of multiple figures and scenes of events placed in continuous sequence like a comic strip –The Roaddepicts histories of the Great Migration, wherein millions of rural Black families fled the oppressive conditions of the Southern United States in search of new opportunities in Northern urban centers. The intense contrast between the utopic brightness of the face of the work and the darkness of the reverse side encourages the viewer to reflect on the harsh reality of the Great Migration: although it was a movement undertaken to flee from oppression in the South, discrimination, violence, racism, and disparity flourished in the North as well.

Not on view

Date
2019

Classification
Sculpture

Medium
Polyurethane resin, raw Virginia cotton, Virginia soil, Virginia twigs, Virginia pine needles, housedresses, kaftans, t-shirts, du-rags, altered housedresses, altered kaftans, altered t-shirts, altered garments, altered tires, scarf, guinea fowl feathers, down feathers, copper, jewelry, shoelaces, mobile phone, burlap satchel, windshield wipers, altered African fabrics, socks, Timberland boots, aluminum, steel

Dimensions
Overall: 96 × 120 × 10in. (243.8 × 304.8 × 25.4 cm)

Accession number
2021.59

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee in memory of Ron Burrell

Rights and reproductions
© Kevin Beasley

API
artworks/64171

Audio

Descripción verbal: Kevin Beasley, The Road, 2019

In Inheritance (Spanish)

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Descripción verbal: Kevin Beasley, The Road, 2019

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Narrator: La escultura de Kevin Beasley The Road es una escultura de “losa” de técnica mixta que mide 243 centímetros de alto, 304 centímetros de ancho y 25 centímetros de profundidad, y parece de escala monumental. La extensa lista de materiales que utilizó comprende resina de poliuretano, algodón crudo de Virginia, tierra de Virginia, ramas de Virginia, hojas de pino de Virginia, ropa de casa, caftanes, remeras, pañuelos durag, ropa de casa alterada, caftanes alterados, prendas de vestir alteradas, neumáticos alterados, bufandas, plumas de aves de corral, plumones, cobre, joyas, cordones de zapato, teléfonos celulares, carteras de arpillera, limpiaparabrisas, telas africanas alteradas, calcetines, botas de marca Timberland, aluminio y acero.
Estos materiales fueron colocados en capas como si se tratara de un collage a fin de crear una escena vibrante con colores explosivos y potencial eléctrico. En la parte inferior izquierda, una figura abstracta que luce pantalones oscuros y una musculosa naranja se encuentra de pie al lado de otra figura con pantalones oscuros y una camisa oscura cubierta con corazones de bordes blancos. Las prendas de vestir que llevan las dos figuras pertenecieron a familiares del artista. Las dos figuras caminan por campos verdes que se extienden al costado de un camino oscuro que se dirige hacia un horizonte soleado. Se pueden hacer muchas suposiciones sobre lo que se encuentra en el campo: sombras de animales, rastros de otros cuerpos, una acumulación de pertenencias, un sentido abstraído de pertenecer. Por encima de las figuras, el sol brillante emite rayos radiales de color naranja, amarillo y blanco. En la luz del sol, se pueden observar las siluetas de aves que despliegan sus alas en vuelo. A la derecha del sol, el cielo muestra una variedad de tonos azules donde vuelan más aves. En la parte de atrás de la obra, algodón crudo teñido de negro y recortes de un neumático de automóvil delinean la silueta de un auto.
Concebido como una especie de “relieve narrativo”, es decir, la implementación de figuras y escenas de eventos que ocurren en una secuencia continua como en una tira cómica, The Road representa historias de la Gran Migración Afroamericana en la que millones de familias negras del campo huyeron de la opresión del sur de Estados Unidos en busca de nuevas oportunidades en los centros urbanos del norte. El marcado contraste entre el optimismo utópico del frente de la obra y la oscuridad del reverso invita al espectador a reflexionar acerca de la dura realidad que se vivió en la Gran Migración Afroamericana: aunque fue un movimiento de liberación de la opresión del sur del país, la discriminación, la violencia, el racismo y la desigualdad abundaban en el norte también.
Verbal Description: Kevin Beasley, The Road, 2019

In Inheritance

0:00

Verbal Description: Kevin Beasley, The Road, 2019

0:00

Narrator: Kevin Beasley’s The Road is a 96 × 120 × 10 inch mixed media “slab” sculpture, which feels monumental in scale. The long list of materials he used is as follows: polyurethane resin, raw Virginia cotton, Virginia soil, Virginia twigs, Virginia pine needles, house dresses, kaftans, t-shirts, du-rags, altered housedresses, altered kaftans, altered t-shirts, altered garments, altered tires, scarf, guinea fowl feathers, down feathers, copper, jewelry, shoelaces, mobile phone, burlap satchel, windshield wipers, altered African fabrics, socks, Timberland boots, aluminum, and steel. These materials are layered like a collage to create a vibrant scene of bursting colors and electric potential. Starting on the bottom left, an abstract figure wearing dark pants and an orange top stands next to another figure in dark pants and a dark shirt covered in white hearts. The clothes of the two figures were sourced from the artist’s family members. The two figures walk through fields of green that lie next to a dark road heading directly into the sunny horizon. In the fields, much can be assumed or presumed—shadows of animals, hints of other bodies, an accumulation of belongings, an abstracted sense of belongingness. Above the figures rests a bright sun emitting radial beams of orange, yellow, and white light. In the light of the sun are the silhouettes of birds flapping their wings. To the right of the sun is a sky composed of multiple blue hues where more birds fly. On the reverse side of the work, dyed black raw cotton and cut car tires trace the form of a car.
Created as a narrative relief – that is, the implementation of multiple figures and scenes of events placed in continuous sequence like a comic strip – The Road depicts histories of the Great Migration, wherein millions of rural Black families fled the oppressive conditions of the Southern United States in search of new opportunities in Northern urban centers. The intense contrast between the utopic brightness of the face of the work and the darkness of the reverse side encourages the viewer to reflect on the harsh reality of the Great Migration: although it was a movement undertaken to flee from oppression in the South, discrimination, violence, racism, and disparity flourished in the North as well.