Gallery Features #SayTheirName Art Installation by Professor Emmert
02/05/2021
Several pounds of broken glass and the names of 108 Black women are the focal point of an art piece by IU McKinney Professor Frank Emmert on exhibit at the Lost Dog Gallery in Indianapolis.
Professor Emmert’s artwork is part a new show entitled "Artefacts of 2020" which opens on Friday, February 5.
The piece, created in 2020 and entitled #SayTheirName, is on sculpted board, 48 inches wide and 30 inches high. The written names are those of women killed by police or who somehow died mysteriously in recent years while in police custody in the United States.
“Most of them were just in the wrong place at the wrong time when the police were looking for someone else. Several were shot and killed in front of their children. None of them were a real threat to the police,” Professor Emmert said. “With my contribution, I am specifically trying to raise awareness of the plight of African American women who somehow seem to end up at the bottom of every pile in this country.”
The other message is that the United States needs better training for police officers to be able to de-escalate situations and use deadly force as the last resort, said Professor Emmert, who has been creating art for more than 45 years.
The show is an in-person event, requiring appointments to be made in advance on the gallery website.
Professor Emmert is John S. Grimes Professor of Law and Director, Center for International and Comparative Law at IU McKinney School of Law.
