Big Man

Willie Birch
Printmaking
2000

Cardinal Hall, Third Floor

Willie Birch (b. 1942, New Orleans, LA) is a renowned American artist known for his intimate depictions of the African-American community and life in New Orleans. Fueled by inaccurate representations that stereotyped African-Americans in art and culture, Birch fought back, using art to tell authentic stories. He works with a variety of mediums - large scale drawings in charcoal, paintings and murals in acrylic and oil, monotypes and prints, and papier-mache sculptures - in bold lines and rich, enveloping palettes (although since 2000, he has only worked in black and white). His style is representational and clear so that he can effectively communicate with his viewer to reveal a message: “I’m an antagonist! I like to force viewers to think about things. For me that’s the purpose of art. My whole existence has been challenging the system.” 
 
Like much of Willie Birch’s work, this lithograph explores black identity and culture in New Orleans.
 
Birch earned his BA from Southern University in New Orleans and his MFA from The Maryland Institute College of Art. His work has been collected by leading institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and shown in many group and solo exhibitions including a solo show at MASS MoCA. He’s received numerous awards, including The Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Conference of Artists in 2013 and The United States Artists Fellowship in 2014.