Thurgood in the House of Chaos
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Object Label
This photolithograph shows the artist dressed as Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice, overlaid with a graffiti-style set of shooter’s crosshairs. Using an image of himself, Rashid Johnson thereby questions the notion of judicial progress for present-day African Americans from the landmark Civil Rights-era decisions Marshall oversaw, including Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
The title makes reference to Public Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” (1988), which details an escape from prison, and suggests that mass incarceration is a form of legalized discrimination:
Cell block and locked, I never clock it y’all
Cause time and time again
Time, they got me serving to those and to them,
I’m not a citizen
Caption
Rashid Johnson American, born 1977. Thurgood in the House of Chaos, 2009. Photolithograph, 30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Exit Art, 2013.30.28. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2013.30.28_PS9.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Publisher
Title
Thurgood in the House of Chaos
Date
2009
Medium
Photolithograph
Classification
Dimensions
30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Exit Art
Accession Number
2013.30.28
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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Frequent Art Questions
Tell me more.
Johnson is a sculptor who works with a wide range of materials to create work that deals with issues of personal, cultural, and racial identity.Tell me more.
This work by Rashid Johnson features the artist himself dressed as Thurgood Marshall, overlaid with cross-hairs, questioning the notion of judicial progress for present-day (2009) African Americans.For an eerily similar work, I would recommend visiting Elizabeth Catlett's "Target" on the 4th floor which was made in 1970 and addresses similar themes.I saw that. I definitely see the similarities.The artist is addressing the idea of progress over time from the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 to 2009. Similarly, Catlett's “Target” can act as a kind of interlude in 1970, forcing us to question how much things have really changed when you see this continuity of imagery through time.Tell me more.
This work is so poignant, especially today. It shows the artist dressed as Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice. Johnson is questioning the notion of judicial progress for present day (2009) African Americans, looking back to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954.In his work Johnson navigates personal, racial, and cultural identity. He draws on historical and material references and incorporates influences from mysticism and cosmology.
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