Glenn Ligon

American, 1960-

Condition Report, 2000

Iris print, screenprint

In two parts, each: 811 x 576 mm

Glenn Ligon draws his inspiration for this diptych from his 1988 painting, Untitled (I AM a Man), which reproduces an iconic  Civil Rights protest sign carried by sanitation workers assembled for a solidarity march in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. This march was originally photographed by Ernest C. Withers, Ligon was inspired by the strikers visibility, asserting their presence, and standing up for their rights. Ligon reexamines the painting in 2000 with these diptych prints, which he titles Condition Report, which critiques the “condition” of black manhood using the familiar language of museum documentation to assess the condition of art objects.   Ligon criticizes how humanity fails to keep this important piece of art in well condition which links to how society diminishes the black male instead of assisting them in America.

Christopher Cohen Jr.

An extended look at Ligon’s Condition Report