![Panthers, by John T. Riddle Jr., 1970s](/sites/default/files/styles/archive_artwork/public/migrated-assets/media/Digital_archives/Now_Dig_This_/Art/DIG.9.jpg?itok=j0ptAfy9)
John T. Riddle Jr., Artist
Panthers
, 1970s
Medium
Welded metal
Dimensions
20 x 14 x 17 in. (50.8 x 35.6 x 43.2 cm)
Credit Line
Private collection. Photo by Ed Glendinning
This welded-metal sculpture shows a sickle decapitating forms that appear to represent human beings. The title suggests that the work references the Black Panther Party, a militant African American Marxist-Leninist political group founded in 1966 in Oakland. The aggression depicted may allude to the loss of life inflicted on the organization by the U.S. government.