Blues for the Middle Passage II

About the Work

John Scott's figurative collage Blues for the Middle Passage II evokes the anonymity and physical vulnerability imposed on Africans transported across the Atlantic—the Middle Passage—as cargo to be sold into slavery. Commercial goods from Europe were shipped to Africa for sale and traded for enslaved Africans. Africans were in turn brought to the New World and traded for raw materials. Silhouettes of male and female figures—some unbound, others fallen—are closer together or aligned in rows across the bed, creating a raft-like panel on top of a dark sea. The casually scripted phrase “No Homeland“ summons the plight of the roughly 20 million Africans sold into slavery. In A Narrative of New Orleans, Scott said of his work: “If one looks at the blues, the blues is a narrative. It's a story. Jazz just elevates the blues, leaving the story and just taking the structure. I think my work can be taken on many levels. It is narrative in nature but the narrative is very abstract. There are other times when there's nothing more than the rhythm, the color, and the structure.” Scott’s works display themes of African American life, Afro-Caribbean culture, and the music culture of his hometown—New Orleans. His work is best known for its unconventional and experimental use of materials. Scott used tools such as chain saws, spoons, traditional wood carving tools, kitchen knives, and various other accessible tools to create his prints. 
_{—From Brandywine Workshop and Archives records}

"In the African American community, he was the first to be embraced by the white world. He was an artist of prominence that could rival anyone in the city. He became the role model, the pinnacle that all of us strove to be like." —artist Willie Birch on John T. Scott
_{—From Brandywine Workshop and Archives records}