Change Your Luck
Robert Colescott’s
acrylic painting, “Change Your Luck”, at first glance, may be acknowledged as a
collage of vivid colors and faces, but when observed closely it is noticeable that
it actually depicts relaxed and hopeful White people, and stiffened and agonized
Black people. Though the overall painting is richly colorful, Colescott shouts out
the misery of the African-Americans and stands up to oppression of the Whites
through effective use of composition, cartoonish expression and the details.
The composition of the painting
makes the contrast between the social status of the Blacks and that of the
Whites obvious. In the scene, people have different backgrounds; a cloudy blue
sky brightens the Whites while dark night sky surrounds the Blacks. Together
with the facial expressions of the people, the effect of background maximizes
the distinction between ambitious yet leisurely Whites and distressed and
ireful Blacks. The position and the size of the people reinforce the painter’s
intention to express the oppression of the Blacks by placing the Whites in the
center and the Blacks at the fringes. Also, the overall portion of dominance of
each race is similar. However, the White has the full body in the scene whereas
the Black has his face more emphasize; it is deemed to aggrandize the painter’s
intention that the viewers focus more on actions for the Whites and on emotions
for the Black. Considering that the painter is an African-American himself, it
is easy to figure out that the art presents the grievance of African-Americans
in the society where the Whites actively enjoy the core benefits of the society
while the Blacks passively wait for the leftovers (actually nothing really
exists).
The cartoonish drawing of the art
further suggests the seriousness of the discussion of slavery issues. Upon
first viewing, the painting is so rich in color that it may seem inappropriate
to fully express the intense pain of the Blacks. However, such is aimed to conceal
the polemical nature of the subject and take a light approach to the viewers in
order to effectively convey the artist’s intention. It shows how much the
Blacks were suppressed to talk about the slavery and exploitation of themselves
and demand their rights as human beings. Colescott excellently made use of
cartoonish drawing to broach the subject without drawing repulsion from the
Whites.
Several details contribute to
deliver the main message which is also related to the title of the work, “Change
Your Luck.” The first thing to look at is what the White man is molding. He is
ambitiously molding horseshoe, which symbolizes “good luck.” Also, the
horseshoe is drawn on the background sky of the White man together with
four-leafed clovers and ace cards which are emblems of “fortune.” Then, we need
look at a puppet and dice around Black men. These things indicate “fate
controlled by external forces,” which points out the passive lives of the Blacks
decided and handled by other people, apparently, the Whites. Such details are
allegorical figurations that convey what painter really wanted to tell the
Blacks, “Change Your Luck!”
Colescott utilizes the composition,
cartoonish drawings and detailed objects to portray the resentment of the
Blacks unable to make their lives themselves in a society dominated by the
Whites. It might be tempting to just scan through the painting and assume that
it is merely drawing of the Whites and the Blacks. However, a closer look to
the composition and details would bring out the sorrow and misery of the Blacks
suppressed in American society. We need not forget the message that is directly
expressed in the title; the author now encourages the Blacks to change their
luck themselves.
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