Theaster Gates USA, b. 1973
Civil Rights Throw Rugs 7200.47, 2012
Decommissioned Fire Hose and trim
32" x 38"
2897
“Civil Rights Throw Rug” is Gates’s most significant work from his seminal series that re-appropriates regulation fire hoses. Harking on the symbolism and historical propensity of his chosen medium–policemen often...
“Civil Rights Throw Rug” is Gates’s most significant work from his seminal series that re-appropriates regulation fire hoses. Harking on the symbolism and historical propensity of his chosen medium–policemen often stymied civil rights protests by blasting activists with high-pressure fire hoses–Gates simultaneously references the racial tensions of the 1950s as well as identifies the ongoing struggle for civil rights.