The Garbage Man
The Garbage Man
Artist
John Biggers
(1924 - 2001)
Date1944
MediumOil on panel
Dimensions40 × 33 in. (101.6 × 83.8 cm)
Framed: 47 5/8 × 40 5/8 × 1 5/8 in.
Framed: 47 5/8 × 40 5/8 × 1 5/8 in.
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2016.8
Signedl.l., in red paint: Biggers 44-1
Accession number
2016.8
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextJohn Biggers used bright, contrasting colors to enliven the alleyway in The Garbage Man. As with many of his paintings from the 1940s, he focused on the realities of urban poverty caused by structural racism. At the same time, he drew attention to the humanity and resilience of the central African American figure. Biggers emphasized his muscled hands and depicted him mid-stride, pushing his cart forward. This gives the man a sense of agency, action, and resourcefulness.
John Biggers utilizó colores vivos y contrastantes para dinamizar el callejón de El recolector de basura. Como en muchas de sus obras de la década de 1940, se centró en las realidades de la pobreza urbana causada por el racismo estructural. Al mismo tiempo, dirigió la atención hacia la humanidad y la fortaleza de la figura afroamericana del centro. Biggers destacó sus manos musculosas y lo representa a media zancada empujando su carrito hacia adelante. Esto da al hombre un sentido de autonomía, acción e ingenio.
