The Gathering

Painting

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

The Gathering

Entry/Object ID

2018.20

Description

Group of gang members in blue hoodies with broad shoulders and obscured faces.

Artwork Details

Medium

Graphite, Watercolor, palmer medium

Context

Jesse Howard’s portraits depict his childhood neighborhood in West Chicago and its inhabitants. Contemporary snapshots of the real-life gang members, homeless, and other characters found in the area, The Gathering and Escort are both prime examples of what Howard calls “illustrations of the most pressing issues of contemporary life.” Here, the artist paints the pressures and anxieties that can come with being an “African American male trapped because of his race or circumstance.” The Gathering also depicts hoodie-wearing gang members: hoods up, broad shouldered and mostly faceless. Though painted in 1993, the hoodies here now also spark dialogue around the politically and socially charged significance of the apparel since the Trayvon Martin shooting in 2012, sparking national debate around race relations, police brutality, and gun laws in the United States.

Acquisition

Accession

2018.19-20

Source or Donor

Howard, Jesse

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Credit Line

Courtesy of the artist

Made/Created

Artist

Howard, Jesse

Date made

1993

Ethnography

Notes

American

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Location

Recto/TR

Transcription

[Artists Signature] '1993

Notes

Inscription Type: Graphite

Lexicon

Getty AAT

Concept

race (group of people), culture-related concepts, power

Hierarchy Name

Associated Concepts (hierarchy name)

Facet

Associated Concepts Facet

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Violence, Political, Gangs, Gun control

Dimensions

Dimension Description

overall; frame

Width

32-1/4 in

Length

20-1/2 in