Whites for Sale

In conjunction with his first NFT sale of White Male Dread Scott made and circulated a poster titled Whites For Sale . The indigo-colored poster advertises a “cargo” of newly arrived white slaves, from which one will be for sale. This work is adapted from a 1796 slave sale announcement poster that is now archived in the library at Columbia University, NYC. Remaining true to the format, design, and phrasing of the original document, the artist only altered the wording to offer “Prime, Healthy Whites” instead of “Negroes”. Using imaging-software, the work conceptually and materially color-inverts the original document—black becomes white, yellowed paper becomes a dark indigo. The use of the color indigo for this work is significant insofar as indigo cultivation and processing was brought to the United States by enslaved Africans. By the 1700s the profits from indigo sales far exceeded other common industries such as cotton and sugar, and subsequently, indigo dyed textiles became a form of currency traded in exchange for slaves.

Dread Scott is an interdisciplinary artist who for three decades has made work that encourages viewers to re-examine cohering ideals of American society. His interdisciplinary practice employs symbolic and visual forms to instigate, rile, and provoke social transformation. He works in a range of media including performance, photography, installation, screen-printing and video. In 1989, the US Senate outlawed his artwork and President Bush declared it “disgraceful” because of its transgressive use of the American flag. Dread became part of a landmark Supreme Court case when he and others burned flags on the steps of the Capitol. He has presented a TED talk on this subject. A skilled public speaker, Scott often unflinchingly calls out tense political issues rather than aesthetic ones. He uses the name Dread Scott firstly to call up the presence of history, for Dread Scott was a slave, sued for his freedom, and his case was a landmark Supreme Court decision. Secondly, Scott uses the name to obfuscate his identity, creating a protective barrier between his personal life and artistic persona.

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