Katrina
Date2005 - 2007
MediumOffset lithograph
DimensionsImage: 21 1/4 × 27 inches (54 × 68.6 cm)
Sheet: 21 1/4 × 27 inches (54 × 68.6 cm)
Matted: 32 × 40 inches (81.3 × 101.6 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase in honor of Courtney McNeil with Telfair Museum of Art acquisitions endowment funds.
Object number2021.7.7
Copyright© Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextThroughout her long career as an artist and arts professional, Howardena Pindell experienced racism and sexism, and often channeled these incidents into her artistic practice. Since a series of works known as Video Drawings in the early 1970s, Pindell has utilized repetitive arrows and dots that simultaneously direct the viewer’s attention to paths of movement but are also often arbitrary and instinctual signs of her mark making.
The artist had already begun working on this print when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, with a disproportionate impact on the city’s Black residents. This inspired the work’s title, and she noted, “I like working with arrows and the unconsciousness. After Katrina I realized I had drawn the footprint and a storm, specifically a hurricane. I did the drawings on Mylar several months before Katrina and kept adding to it.” As an artist exposing harsh racial injustices, Pindell intended Katrina not only to stand for a devastating storm but for a crisis that exposed the insufficient government aid offered to low-income victims of the hurricane.
Text written for 'Contemporary Spotlight: New Acquisitions from the Brandywine Workshop' on view February 4 - May 1, 2022.
