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O.J. Simpson Coloring & Activity Book
By Colin Quashie
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In "The Souls of Black Folk," the esteemed scholar W.E.B. DuBois noted, "the problem of the Twentieth
Century is the problem of the color line." Ninety years after his declaration, with segregation and the Civil
Rights Movement in hindsight, admittedly, race relations were considered on the mend. However, in the
summer of 1994, the murders of two whites and the following aquittal of an iconic African-American
shattered the illusion. The O.J. Simpson trial would become yet another watershed moment in the history
of race relations in this country.
Using the medium of art in the form of the "O.J. Simpson Coloring & Activity Book," the intent is not to
rehash the merits or legal strategies employed during the trial, but rather to assess the social impact by
surveying the extent of the cultural divide it exposed. In this on-line forum, which will be followed by a
moderated colloquium at McColl Center for Visual Art in Charlotte, NC, (February 24, 2005) we hope to communicate across
social, racial and cultural boundaries in an effort to foster a greater awareness and understanding of each
other.
All responses will become the domain of Quashie, Inc.
GO DIRECTLY TO DISCUSSIONS
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O.J. Simpson Coloring Book - Cover |
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The Murder Trial of O.J. Simpson for the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman was a major event
during the 1990s regarding race relations in America. Are you aware of the basic issues of this important
trial and its impact on American society as a whole?
DISCUSS
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O.J. Simpson Coloring Book - Panel 1 |
"O.J. Simpson was awarded many trophies during his career. His favorites were The Heisman and Nicole Brown."
Questions:
1) In your opinion, is the concept of "success" different for black Americans than the concept of "success"
as applied to whites and non-black Americans?
2) Does American society at large view the interracial coupling of a black male / white female differently
from the perception of a white male / black female?
3) Briefly discuss your personal view of the social concept of the "trophy" wife. Is this idea a social myth or
an American cultural reality?
4) Do you have any friends or family members who are currently involved in, or who have been involved in
an "interracial" relationship? If so, please discuss your opinion of how they are perceived by you and your
peers.
5) Has the trial affected your perception of or interest in potentially becoming involved in an "interracial"
relationship?
DISCUSS
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O.J. Simpson Coloring Book - Panel 2 |
"See how long it takes you to drive O.J. back to his Brentwood mansion."
Questions:
1) The "slow chase" through Los Angeles freeways by police following O.J.'s White Bronco was one of the most watched moments in television history. Comment on the impact that the pre-existing media coverage of the covert beatings of lower-class, poor, black Rodney King had upon the manner in which the police managed the treatment of the televised apprehension of, rich, black celebrity, O.J. Simpson?
2) Are you able to think of any social, political, or cultural elements, which may have conspired to make this non-event such a media happening?
DISCUSS
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O.J. Simpson Coloring Book - Panel 3 |
"The Bloody Glove: Kids! Place your hands on the gloves. Cut carefully around the line that fits your hand. Put glue on the edges and glue both halves together. After the glue dries, put your hands inside the bloody glove. It fits perfectly!"
Questions:
The justice system is predicated on the principle that a defendant is "innocent until proven guilty." The
bloody glove played a principal part in the acquittal of O.J. Simpson and supported his claim of innocence.
Do you feel that the social phenomenon of "Race" may consistently have a role in the distortion of our
ability to perceive either an "objective" or a "relative" concept of "truth?"
DISCUSS
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O.J. Simpson Coloring Book - Panel 4 |
"Though friends since grade school, Denise and Arnelle stopped speaking to each other after the verdict was read."
Questions:
1) When you first heard the verdict of the O. J. Simpson Trial, where were you and how did you react?
How did others around you react?
2) Did your reaction to the verdict cause any ill feelings with others who reacted differently?
3) Have you had or avoided any discussions about the verdict with someone of another race whose opinion
differed from yours?
DISCUSS
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O.J. Simpson Coloring Book - Panel 5 |
"How many words can you make out of the phrase JURY NULLIFICATION."
Questions:
1) The history of judicial unfairness on the part of whites (particularly in the face of overwhelming evidence
against white defendants accused of killing blacks in the South during the Jim Crow era) is well
documented. Do you feel that this fact played a role in the way blacks reacted to the Œnot guilty‚ verdict
delivered by a predominantly black jury sitting in judgment of a black O.J. Simpson accused of killing white
Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman?
2) The seated jury at the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson included 9 blacks and rendered a verdict of "Not
Guilty." The seated jury at the civil trial of O. J. Simpson included 9 whites and rendered a verdict of "Guilty." If the predominantly "black" jury engaged in the act of "Jury Nullification," do you think that the "white" jury returned the favor
by engaging in the same practice?
3) Do you feel it would be appropriate or necessary for the justice system to adopt carefully defined
parameters to determine a defendant's "peer" group [considering racial or social standing, educational level,
and other contextual information, etc.]?
DISCUSS
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O.J. Simpson Coloring Book - Panel 6 |
"O.J. is broke and his career over. Who got his fame and money?"
Questions:
1) Who do you believe may have benefited most from the death of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman
and subsequent trial of O. J. Simpson?
2) In the era of 24 hour news programming, what level of responsibility do you believe the news media
may have in monitoring the integrity of their coverage of highly publicized, celebrity generating
sensationalist trials?
DISCUSS
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O.J. Simpson Coloring Book - Panel 7 |
"Ignoring his extensive resume, the first question the job interviewer asked Jamal was, "O.J. Simpson... guilty or innocent!"
Questions:
1) In your opinion, what does the O.J. Simpson verdict reveal to us concerning issues of "Race" in
American society?
2) Have you ever felt uncomfortable expressing your opinions on the case and the verdict in the company
of strangers?
3) Has an individual's opinion on the trial become a litmus test on race in society?
DISCUSS
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Download the O.J. Simpson Coloring Book (2mb PDF file) | Colin Quashie web site
Colin Quashie bio: In this post-modern era, Colin Quashie’s highly charged political art may be called “conceptual.” Artistically and aesthetically, much of his art is closely allied to the ideals of the pop-art movement of the 1960s and '70s, but the subject matter is radically different from that explored in the earlier genre.
Quashie’s art faces off against hard issues of culture, politics and race with a self-conscious awareness that often offends (or disturbs) black, white and other; he discriminates with equality and equanimity. Quashie is equal to the hard questions he raises, but often the issues are camouflaged in pop-culture imagery and a form of Warholesque flashiness which confounds as well as derides the spectator.
Operating in the tradition of the French avant-garde artists, Quashie challenges the status quo mentality and functioning on frustration with the vision of the masses. A vision which he hopes to help shape and determine by raising questions that the audience might prefer to avoid. His work encompasses a conceptual element which shapes its meaning and underscores the use of art as didactic tools for society. Through the use of ‘positive’ social anger, Quashie uses his art to scrutinize the power bases of our social system, forcing us to examine our collective political perceptions. His point of view makes its mark by challenging us to be more thoughtful, expressive and more aware. With blatant disregard for compromise, he confronts our favorite beliefs, and forces us to think about the roles we occupy in society. Recurrently controversial, his art, “…is as current as yesterday’s headlines, bold and brash like rap music…the equivalent of a three second sound byte; quick, easy and to the point.”
Quashie was born in London, England, and raised in the West Indies and the Bahamas before settling with his family in Daytona Beach, Florida. He currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Colloquium at McColl Center for Visual Art will be moderated by Frank C. Martin II
A native of South Carolina, Frank Martin is an intellectual product of the state public schools' advanced
placement system. He attended Yale University as an undergraduate, receiving designation as a Yale
National Scholar and majoring in the History of Art. The Yale curriculum included auditing innovative
courses in African Art with noted scholar, Robert Thompson, while specializing in19th and 20th Century
European Art with Ann Coffin-Hanson and Robert Herbert, American Art with Ted Stebbins and studies in
Art and Architecture with Vincent Scully. Mr. Martin completed his senior essay under the direction of Prof.
Robert Herbert on the theme of "Dissociation in Degas' La Classe de Danse Paintings".
Later, in New York, Mr. Martin served as an intern for the Studio Museum in Harlem, then under the
direction of Dr. Mary Schmit-Campbell, where he worked with curator, Patricia Moman-Bell on special
projects, including initial development of a system for cataloguing the Museum's extensive slide collection
of contemporary African-American artists.
Shortly after graduating from Yale, Martin was employed by the Division of Education Services of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he served both as a lecturer on the Museum's collections and in an
administrative capacity as Associate Manager of Education Services (through 1991).
While at the Metropolitan, he continued graduate study in Art History at the City University of New York,
Hunter College, completing his thesis on The Art Patronage of Alessandro de'Medici, Primvs Dux Florentiae
under the supervision of Prof. Janet Cox-Rearick. Designated as a recipient of the William Graf Travel
Stipend for Study Abroad while at Hunter, Martin used this funding to assist in his thesis research and
inquiry into the interaction of African and European cultures as reflected in Euro-centrist art forms. In
1991, Martin was admitted to the program of post-graduate study, initiating additional research at the
Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, from which he is currently on hiatus. For the last 10 years,
Martin has served as Curator of Exhibitions and Collections for the I. P. Stanback Museum, at South
Carolina State University where he is completing an on-going process of accessioning and cataloguing the
Museum's collections of African and African-American Art, supported in part through a grant from the Ford
Foundation, and curating the current exhibitions schedule. He has also served as one of the first Americans
of African descent to act as Contributing Critic in the Fine Arts for the historic Charleston Post & Courier in
addition to participating in diverse symposia, colloquia and discussion fora on diverse topics in the Fine Arts
organized by the South Carolina Arts Commission, South Carolina State Museum, Southeastern College Art
Association Conference, Southern Conference of African-American Studies, Inc., Southern Arts Federation,
Alternate Roots, the Gibbes Museum of Art, Columbia Museum of Art, and through his current faculty
appointment in art history instruction at South Carolina State University. Martin has contributed to various
local, regional, and national publications on topics in the Fine Arts, often addressing issues of cultural
plurality, metonymy, iconographic significance and contextual-relevance.
Original CAN/API publication: January 2005
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