M. Kerr, K. Pantall, G. Sutton, sheepsheareres

Michael O'Brien

1987

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Large, sculptural installation piece comprised of a variety of found objects that references those individuals who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Birmingham in 1963, in the form of two figures, one on each side made of miscellaneous metal parts and with tire torsos, in each "hand" hangs old clothing and shoes, a cross, from the "head" of one extends an American flag, in the center is a group of objects that refer to conflict during the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, including plastic dogs, boots, guns, a police baton, and chains attached to a metal grate, above this are two old Alabama license plates and a central BEWARE OF THE DOG sign, on the ground in front of the piece is a red fireman's hat and a black police helmet along with a recumbent plastic dog and pair of rubber boots with a machine gun inside.
On two large panels, a black v-shape made of paint, signs, and other material appears in the center of a grey field of paint. In the top center section, a microphone is placed, its cord hanging down and connecting into a sandbox filled with cards that have word "secret" on them.
The predominant image, a photolithograph of two girls posed in a rowboat, set within a gold-lined oval, is centered within the top two-thirds of the sheet. Running horizontally along the lower half of the sheet, four inches from the bottom, are five hand-drawn fortune cookies. The center cookie is partially obscured by a red negation sign.
Flooded street with damaged houses and trees.