American artist Faith Ringgold created the oil painting titled The American People Series #20: Die. Die is an oil painting on two canvases that shows a gathering of ten people and three children in various expressions of terror and violence. The composition has received much attention as one of Ringgold’s most significant and recognizable pieces of art. Starting from the left of the painting, a viewer can see a variety of characters. This piece of art is an example of how the author is able to capture the attention of the audience with their work.
The readers are persuaded by the visuals since they grab their attention. Both white people and African Americans are shown in the photograph with blades and pistols. Given that there is human blood in the artwork, these individuals appear to be engaged in a life-or-death struggle. Both white and black ladies are shown frantically battling with the males to shield their kids from male predators. Two children are shown in the middle of the image: one is a black girl, and the other is a white boy. The youngsters appear to be hugging one another, which may be intended to instill dread (Ringgold). They seem to be severely disturbed and terrified of the riots between the ladies and males. The white lady clutching a gun represents the mothers, who are shown in the painting trying their best to defend the children. In the 1960s, handguns were often associated with men, but in this image, a woman is wielding the gun to symbolize their attempts to save the kids.
Aside from the two snuggling youngsters, every other figure is bloodied or injured, and they are all grimacing in dread or rage. All of the figures are dressed in formal clothes, with the men donning dress slacks and white collared shirts and the women donning orange cocktail dresses. The youngster being hoisted aloft is dressed in white and the children who are embracing each other match the parents’ clothing. A grid of different shapes may be seen behind the figurines.
The chaotic scene seen here is reminiscent of the racial unrest that rocked the United States in the 1960s. The piece reminds me of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, the artist’s answer to the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, which Ringgold frequently saw at The Museum of Modern Art. Ringgold’s choice to clothe the figures of Die in professional clothing and stylish gowns alludes to the covert racial animosities that exist in even the wealthiest sectors of American society. The artwork was created with the intention of addressing current racial tensions as well as the artist’s worry that racial violence might worsen in the years to come.
Ringgold’s “Super Realism” communicates similarly and has many similarities to heraldry and sign art. It enables her scenes to be viewed metaphorically as opposed to as accounts of particular people or events. Ringgold creates the mayhem of Die by superimposing vividly attired, terrified women over a center of male warriors and background of gray colors that resemble metropolitan concrete, modern abstract art, and a chessboard full of pieces (Ringgold). Notably, the layering technique fails at the point when the man’s hand crosses the woman’s arm, which is near the pistol. Localized depth applications of red, orange, and yellow paint help to unite the violent scenes and drive the eye around the composition. Warm browns fill in the space between that blazing palette and the calm neutrals at the same time.
Work Cited
Ringgold, Faith. “The American People Series# 20: Die. 1967, Museum of Modern Art, New York.” (2019).