On View
Not on viewObject number1984/5.22
Marked for Life
Artist
Reginald Gammon
(American, 1921-2005)
Date1981
Mediumlithograph
Dimensionsimage: 14 15/16 × 21 1/2 in. (37.9 × 54.6 cm)
sheet: 22 1/4 × 25 7/8 in. (56.5 × 65.7 cm)
mat: 24 × 30 in. (61 × 76.2 cm)
sheet: 22 1/4 × 25 7/8 in. (56.5 × 65.7 cm)
mat: 24 × 30 in. (61 × 76.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist
Exhibition History"It Speaks to Me" KIA School Commons (Feb. 3 - May 1, 2005.
"Energy and Inspiration: African American Art from the Permanent Collection," KIA Long Gallery (Jan. 13 - Apr. 14, 2006).
"Embracing Diverse Voices: African-American Art in the Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts," KIA Galleries 3&4(Oct. 3 - Nov. 29, 2009).
"Embracing Diverse Voices: 80 Years of African-American Art," KIA Traveling Exhibition, Bakersfield Museum of Art (Dec. 13, 2012 – Mar. 10, 2013).
"Common Ground: African American Art from the Flint Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the Muskegon Museum of Art," FIA, Flint, Michigan (Feb. 8 - Apr. 26, 2015), KIA, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (Aug. 21 - Nov. 15, 2015), Muskegon Museum of Arts, Muskegon, Michigan ().
"Embracing Diverse Voices: A Century of African-American Art," KIA Traveling Exhibition, North Carolina Central University Art Museum (October 7 - December 12, 2016).
"Resilience: African American Artists as Agents of Change," at the KIA (September 14, 2019 - February 16, 2020)
"Resilience: African American Artists as Agents of Change," [Travel Version] at the Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, MI (June 6, 2021 - August, 15, 2021)Label TextA prison inmate looks out from his cell, his right eye hidden behind the bars that contain him. This young man is "marked" in many ways. He is literally marked by the tattoos on his body: the half-naked woman posing over the words, "Born to Die" on his left forearm, the classic "Mom" inscription on his right and the three tears on his left cheek. But he is also marked by past mistakes and societal influences which are symbolized by his prison identification number, 14876.
Reginald Gammon is a prolific artist who came of age during the Harlem Renaissance. His subjects are dramatic, powerful, personal and often deal with social and political subjects. Trained as a figurative artist, the human form is central to his storytelling. Now living in Albuquerque, Gammon has most recently been producing images of African-American musicians as he feels that music is one of the most important contributions made by African-Americans to the American culture.
