Tighten Up

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    Photo: Stephen Pitkin/Pitkin Studio
1999
Tire rim, chains, wrench, rigger, and found machine parts
52 x 17 x 16.5 inches
Description

“Everything on earth is tied down to prevent the force of gravity. Look inside the slave ship. The slave was tied down with chains and shackles as he came across from the motherland. His legs, his arms, around his neck, was chains, in the belly of the ship. Tighten Up. That’s the cruelty, to break a man’s spirit. So many died with the chains still on. Thrown overboard to feed the sharks, from the door of no return. The Indians got the Trail of Tears. We got the trail of chains and shackles.” —Joe Minter