CounterActive from the collection of Arts New Orleans

CounterActive, 2019

Screen window, chalk paint, wood, rope, found objects

47 x 79 x 9.75 in (119.38 x 200.66 x 24.77 cm)

Location: City Hall Floor 2, City Council, District A, Room 2W50 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 (Google map)

Based on the September 17, 1960, McCrory’s lunch counter sit-in on Canal Street in New Orleans, theses shadowy figures of Oretha Castle, Cecil Carter, Sydney Goldfinch and Rudy Lombard depict the lack of visual documentation of this particular protest. Castle's life work as an activist is symbolized by the presence of sandwiches that denote the access people of color now have to services and opportunities. Individually the sandwiches speak to themes of restricted access be it wealth, health, or housing, and the countless acts of injustice carried out by the police department.

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About the artist

Rontherin Ratliff

Self-taught artist Rontherin Ratliff explores the analogous relationship between architecture and the human condition, Ratliff was born in New Orleans, where he currently lives and works. He is a member of Antenna and LEVEL Artist Collective in New Orleans.

Exhibition venues include the Elsewhere Museum (Greensboro, NC), Art Route 2017 (Groningen, NL), Xavier University Gallery (New Orleans, LA), Tulane University Carroll Gallery (New Orleans, LA), Deering Estate (Miami, FL), Governor’s Island, (New York,NY), 516 ARTS (Albuquerque, NM), Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery (Worcester, MA), University Galleries, FAU (Boca Raton, FL), and Ogden Museum of Southern Art (New Orleans, LA).

Additional Details

About the artist

Rontherin Ratliff