Henry Taylor - I Am a Man, 2017

Painted from the artists memory, exact dimensions unknown.

Taylor’s portrait I Am a Man, 2017, is of Shawn Corey Carter (b. 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z. The painting was commissioned for the 2017 New York Times Style Magazine cover and article on the rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. The artist made the painting from memory.

The title references the “I Am A Man” signs Black protestors wore during the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike. It protested low wages and dangerous working conditions and began after two employees were killed by their malfunctioning garbage truck. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) marched alongside the sanitation workers in Memphis, gave a powerful speech on April 3, and was assassinated the next day. - Whitney Museum

(I am A HUGE JAY-Z FAN, this piece warms my heart ^_^)

Past exhibition: Henry Taylor: B Side. Oct 4, 2023–Jan 28, 2024

Delve Deeper: A Tribute to Hip-Hop Mogul Jay-Z | In the Studio With the Artist Who Painted Jay-Z | Jay-Z and Dean Baquet, in Conversation | IG