Cheryl Kinderknecht - Disability Nation

Medium: Acrylic Mixed Media 

Dimensions (height, width of artwork): H-25.5” x W-25.5” x D-1.5”

Description of Painting or Photo: This is a brightly colored mixed media painting that is jam-packed with both images and words. On the left side, you see a long-legged skeleton holding a protest sign that says “Please Don’t Take My Healthcare.” At the skeleton’s legs on the lower left half of the piece you see more protestors holding signs. A very long red-tipped white cane completely divides the page diagonally. On the right side of the painting there’s an American flag flying upside down in the universal distress position. Midway on the lower right you see four wheelchair symbols.  Scattered throughout the piece, there are written or collaged words that refer to healthcare, disability rights, and the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act. There is a recurrent visual theme of red and white stripes, i.e., on the flag, on the shirts of some of the protestors, and falling red stripes from the bottom of the flag ending at the red tip of the white cane. There is a sense of both distress and militant anger. 

This work was created in response to a call for artists with disabilities with a theme of “America Through My Eyes.” Utilizing acrylics, ink, graphite and collage materials, the style would be considered representational mixed media. By content, it would also be categorized as protest art.