“Tar Baby vs St. Sebastian” by Michael Richards, a memorial to the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII.
Walking through the NC Museum of Art a few months ago, I came across a bronze sculpture of a man in a flight suit, airplanes stuck like spears in his torso. I moved in closer, examining the work, going through the process in my head, admiring the time and effort that went into this life size bronze sculpture.
The description read, “Tar Baby vs St. Sebastian” by Michael Richards, a memorial to the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII.
According to tuskegeeairmen.org, the “Tuskegee Airmen” refers to the men and women, African-Americans and Caucasians, who were involved in the so-called “Tuskegee Experience”, the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air.
When I got home I immediately searched for the artist online. Michael Richards worked in NYC, his studio was on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Center. He died that September day along with the 2,606 others in NYC and the 371 on planes and in the Pentagon.
Prophetic? It quiets me.
Find more information about Michael Richard’s art and life at Studio Museum.
