How Do You Spell America #6

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How Do You Spell America #6

Artist: Willie Cole (American, born 1955)

Date: 1993

Medium: Oilstick, chalk, and latex on masonite and wood

Dimensions:

49 x 96 in. (124.5 x 243.8 cm)

Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Brown Foundation Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund, Janet L. Brown, the Guillermo C. Nicolas & James C. Foster Art Fund, Christopher C. Hill, Dr. Harmon and Harriet Kelley, Zoe A. Diaz, Stacey Hill and Erick Schlather, and an Anonymous Donor

Object number: 2012.17

Label Text

Mining a television newscast and The New York Times, Willie Cole jotted down words beginning with the letters A, M, E, R, I, C, and A. Written on a blackboard in chalk, the words appear random when read vertically but form sentences when read left to right. Phrases such as “American Malaise Eases Right Into Chronic Apathy” comment on American society and values. Cole’s use of the instructive blackboard and its inherent black-and-white color scheme further calls attention to the country’s educational system and racial inequities.
LSM, 2024

Not on view

The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.

Artwork

How Do You Spell America #6

How Do You Spell America #6