Brooklyn Museum Displays Work of Artist Killed in 9/11 on 25th Anniversary
Michael Richards’s 1997 sculpture “Free F’All” commemorates the historic African American military pilots, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the discrimination they experienced during service.
On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Brooklyn Museum has displayed a sculpture by emerging Caribbean-American artist Michael Richards, killed in the World Trade Center's North Tower 25 years ago. Richards, 38 at the time, never recovered any remains from Ground Zero, but his work "Free F All" (1997) lives on through its public display.
This is the only piece by Richards in the museum's collection. Kimberli Gant, the curator of modern and contemporary art, notes that Richards' career was tragically cut short, making the museum's display particularly meaningful. The fiberglass and resin sculpture, coated in rust oxide, portrays a Black military pilot in a state of rest, with his arms pinned to his sides and a slight bend in his right knee.
Dozens of nails pierce his body, symbolizing racial discrimination and violence endured by these pilots during segregation in the US military during World War II.
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