Le phénomène cheque (The Phenomenon of Street Children)

Sam-Ilus, artist

born 1979

Le phénomène cheque (The Phenomenon of Street Children), 2013

Where object was made: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Material/technique: acrylic; canvas

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 87.63 x 117.47 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 34 1/2 x 46 1/4 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: R. Charles and Mary Margaret Clevenger Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 2013.0056

Not on display

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These three paintings offer distinct perspectives on how built environments shape and reflect our lives. Walter Gay’s plush interior of an English country house painted in bright pastels is in stark contrast with Joseph Friebert’s gritty street scene rendered using a dark, earthy palette. While Gay was a wealthy expatriate living in Paris, Friebert grew up in Milwaukee in a Jewish working-class family and was profoundly influenced by the Socialist ideas of his father, a tailor and a union organizer.

Friebert’s Milwaukee street is empty and dark compared to the colorful Kinshasha street scene painted by Sam Illus. As with other arte populaire or “popular art” works, Illus captures the everyday hardships of poverty and disparities of life on the streets with penetrating honesty.