Witchdoctor II

While having a swimming pool installed in the backyard of her San Jose, California home, art professor Marie Johnson Calloway replaced her wooden fence with one that was two feet taller. Since she never let anything go to waste, Johnson Calloway then repurposed the discarded planks for her paintings, adding heads, and, finally, clothing. Witchdoctor II is one of these magnificent assemblages created to resemble everyday heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Reflecting a growing sense of Black pride and community engagement, this cool depiction of a modern-day healer has political buttons pinned to his stylish red-fishnet tank that celebrate historic Black neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Detroit.