Museum gotta see 'um

Kerry James Marshall’s monumental murals of Mount Vernon and Monticello, recently installed in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, depict the estates of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in what, at first glance, seems to be a light-hearted manner. All the basics of children’s coloring books are present, including crayon colors, mazes, hidden figures and connect-the-dots. What are apparently absent from Marshall’s paintings, and what are only revealed to the careful viewer, are the images of the slaves who worked on the plantations but who were so often omitted from earlier representations of these famous residences. In this project, specifically commissioned for SFMOMA, Marshall highlights slavery as a major component of these presidents’ means of support, prompting a reconsideration of antebellum America. The paintings, produced in collaboration with Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center, will be complemented by a response mural, designed and executed by local high school students, to be unveiled in May 2009 at De Fremery Park in Oakland. To learn more about Marshall and his work, visit www.sfmoma.org/multimedia/marshall.