I chose the artwork called Revolutionary (Angela Davis) by Wadsworth A. Jarrell. It is from 1971 and is a form of contemporary art. There seems to be a lot of historical context behind the painting. The artist, Jarell, co-founded a movement called COBRA, which later went to be called AfriCOBRA, with his wife. Because he is proudly involved in the black rights movement, he dedicated this piece of art to an activist named Angela Y. Davis. Davis fought for racial, gender, and economic justice so Jarell decided to do something based off her and her work. The image is her face with the incorporation of words that Davis herself said and also Black Power slogans.

About the composition of the painting, the colors incorporated in the artwork is very important. The color scheme is made up of mostly of warm colors. There are reds, pinks, purples, and yellows all involved. They are also important because they are the AfriCOBRA’s signature colors. It was blended in a way where all the colors can just pop up at you. Also, the words are written with the same colors so it blends in but it was done so interestingly that you can still read out the words on the painting. The painting is on a canvas made with acrylic and mixed media. The scale of the painting is very big, you can compare it to the size of an adult bike.

Something very interesting about the artwork is that Angela is seen wearing a belt of bullets. These belts were extremely popular symbols of revolutionary thought. This shows Jarell’s dedication into depicting the reality and truth about the black rights movement.