Birmingham Race Riot
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Object Label
The inscription on this print does not name the actor or the role he is playing—when the print was released, the subject would have been evident to Kabuki fans. The square emblem on his costume’s sleeve indicates that the actor is one of several who went by the name Ichikawa Danjūrō. His character carries prayer beads and a box inscribed with the word for “monk.” However, his shaggy, unkempt hair indicates that he is a former monk who has stopped shaving his head and succumbed to temptations and evil influences. Wayward monks are a relatively common theme in Japanese theatrical literature, so it is difficult to pinpoint the exact character or drama depicted here.
Caption
Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987). Birmingham Race Riot, 1964. Black ink silkscreen print on off-white moderately textured wove paper, sheet: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm) frame: 27 3/4 x 31 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (70.5 x 80.6 x 4.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of R. Wallace and Ruth Bowman, 86.285.9. © artist or artist's estate. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Publisher
Title
Birmingham Race Riot
Date
1964
Medium
Black ink silkscreen print on off-white moderately textured wove paper
Classification
Dimensions
sheet: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm) frame: 27 3/4 x 31 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (70.5 x 80.6 x 4.8 cm)
Markings
Chopmark lower right recto
Credit Line
Gift of R. Wallace and Ruth Bowman
Accession Number
86.285.9
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
Copyright for this work may be controlled by the artist, the artist's estate, or other rights holders. A more detailed analysis of its rights history may, however, place it in the public domain. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Some of the objects displayed in the Feminist Center for Art are made by men and also do not seem to address feminist concerns. Why is that?
It's a good question. While some do address feminist concerns or even self-identify as feminists, another aspect of their inclusion to consider is a feminist look at their work in terms of curatorial practice rather than solely presentation of feminist art.Is that true for Dread Scott? I see nothing feminist in this photograph.My argument for the Dread Scott piece would be that any work which critiques or attempts to dismantle white supremacy in some way intersects with feminism, especially as it concerns black women.That’s a good argument. Can I steal it? I wouldn’t have thought that carefully!And why Warhol?Of course!With the Warhol piece, a photograph of a race riot, the same argument could apply.Yes agreed on Warhol.
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