WORD UP! Artist Fahamu Pecou’s work enters Smithsonian’s NMAAHC

Written by | Ray Cornelius 

A BIG round of applause goes to Atlanta artist extraordinaire Fahamu Pecou. He announced on Tuesday that his painting “I’m Still Fly” from his “Grav•i•ty” collection is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture (NMAAHC). He posted the exciting new on his social media pages.

As previously reported, Pecou’s “Grav•i•ty” uses the trend of “saggin” as an allegory to talk about Black male mobility and agency.  The term gravity is used as a double entendre and refers to both the physical concept of gravity as well as the notion of something being grave and serious.  By conforming to prevailing ideas of respectability young African-American men find their realities, sensibilities, and self-expression diminished, effectively rendering them invisible. Saggin then is an act of resistance and a demand to be seen.  The groundbreaking collection appeared at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia in December 2014.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture is currently under construction on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and will open its doors in 2016. The museum is being described as “a place where all Americans can learn about the richness and diversity of the African American experience, what it means to their lives and how it helped us shape this nation.”

Pecou’s work was most recently seen on the first season of the Fox series, “Empire” and is admired by such musical artists as Beyoncé and Jay-Z.  His other work is currently on display at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art.

#FahamuIsTheShit

Photo Credits: ttcoles.wordpress.com and Fahamu/Instagram