Rashaun Rucker @ruckerarts “Cooped Up” (graphite on paper) (22x30in) American Ornithology is a series of drawings that compares the life and origins of -- the Rock Pigeon -- to the stereotypes and myths of the constructed identities of Black men in America. Pi·geon·hole (verb) To assign to a particular category or class, especially in a manner that is too rigid or exclusive. Synonyms: categorize, classify, label, typecast, ghettoize Europeans introduced pigeons to North America in the 1600s around the same period that slavery commenced in what would become the United States. Brought to this country from elsewhere, they lack a migration gene and when taken away from its environment, usually returns home because of its familiarity with the ecosystem and today are often found in urban centers. The displacement and lack of the migration gene manifests itself in one of the many forms of conditioning in these birds. American Ornithology considers the relationship between these birds as they overlap with the lives of with Black people in America. The series considers how Black people were taken from our place of foundation and assigned a station in society within the colonized western hemisphere. American Ornithology seeks to explore the constructed belief that one is only permissible in certain spaces that have been designed/designated based on racial stereotypes and placed like pigeons in coops or prisons. The images I’ve created communicate why Black men often don't fly (achieve) even though we have the ability to go far beyond our circumstances. They paint a picture of how the environment we have been placed in by generational systemic oppressions becomes a reluctant contentment and not a fleeting station in life. Pigeons, similar to how many see Black men as individuals that populate urban landscapes and live off assistances (the system). Both viewed as vermin by some. #RashaunRucker #CoopedUp #GraphiteonPaper #SupportBlackArt https://www.instagram.com/p/CDRei7ZBNQd/?igshid=l4sz3i1nknqu
