George Floyd
Artist
Desiree Kelly
(American, born 1989)
Date06/01/2020
Mediumoil, acrylic on aluminum
Dimensions12 × 12 in. (30.5 × 30.5 cm)
Frame Size: 19 3/4 × 19 3/4 in. (50.2 × 50.2 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of David Lentz, 2020
Object numberUAC6727
DescriptionDesiree Kelly is an award-winning Detroit artist who grew up on the Eastside of the city. She attended Winan’s Academy of Performing Arts and went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Wayne State University in 2011. Kelly was also introduced to oil painting during her undergraduate studies. As a Detroit native, she has been involved in the city’s art scene since she was a child. She is known for her portraits of public icons “and her unique ability to reflect on the narrative of her subjects.” These portraits “are historically immersive and reflect on the narrative of her subjects by including artifacts and phrases within each piece.” Kelly has been commissioned by several corporations such as the Detroit Pistons, Footlocker, Converse, Pandora, Beaumont, Red Bull, and, most recently, Pepsi. She has received several awards, most notably being named as a “Twenty in their 20’s” honoree by Crain’s Detroit Business in 2019 and a “Rising Street Artist to Watch in Detroit” by Complex magazine. Her work can be found all throughout Detroit, including the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building, dPop!, Kuzzo’s Chicken & Waffles, and the historic Alger Theater.Kelly’s impactful portrait of George Floyd is painted on a stop sign and mounted on an octagonal frame. The stop sign plays an integral role in the work. It urges the viewer to stop and acknowledge the humanity of George Floyd, which the Minneapolis police failed to see when they murdered him; Furthermore, Kelly calls viewers to reflect on the countless African Americans who are killed by police brutality: those whose names we know and those whose stories were never told. Moreover, the stop sign symbolizes law enforcement, an institution that has failed Black Americans time and time again. There is a hole that goes through the stop sign where Kelly painted Floyd’s neck. Drawing attention to the neck reminds viewers of how George Floyd was murdered, with Derek Chauvin knelt over his neck for over nine minutes.
Portraiture was traditionally a Western art practice that only captured the likeness of European subjects. In contrast, African Americans were often criminalized in photographs by only showing the side profile. Images of side profiles were also utilized throughout the nineteenth century to propose the supposed inferiority of non-Europeans, particularly of people of African descent: based on pseudo sciences that suggested that certain physical features, like skull shape, determined the intelligence of a race. Kelly’s portrait of George Floyd, along with her other works of notable Black figures,challenge the old-fashioned notion that portraiture is reserved for European subjects. A departure from nineteenth century caricatures and criminalized renderings of Black people, she uses naturalism to illustrate Floyd in a dignified fashion, honoring a life that should not have been taken away. Kelly also incorporates varying shades of paint to create depth and further emphasize that she is capturing the essence of a real person. Just as she does in her other works, Kelly includes an artifact that speaks to the historical significance of George Floyd. She adorns his head with a Black Lives Matter snapback, which highlights how Floyd’s murder triggered the largest racial justice protests in America since the Civil Rights Movement, along with international racial justice movements.
Written by Angela Athnasios
Sources: CBS News, "The global impact of George Floyd: How Black Lives Matter protests shaped movements around the world," Wayne State University, Alumni Association Magazine, Spring/Summer 2021, desireekellyart.com
Collections
