Melvin Edwards, Artist
Cotton Hangup
, 1966
Medium
Welded steel
Dimensions
26 x 30 x 20 in. (66 x 76.2 x 50.8 cm)
Credit Line
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hans Burkhardt. Photo by Tim Nighswander/IMAGING4ART
Cotton Hangup investigates space, linear arrangements, and the combination of flexible and inflexible steel elements. The title points to the history of cotton and the relationship that African Americans have had to it, first as slaves working on plantations and then as sharecroppers, tied to the land and the crop.