John T. Riddle, Jr. (1933 – March 3, 2002) was an American artist known for his paintings and sculptures. Riddle's metal assemblage sculptures, created from the debris of the Watts riots, are among his best-known works. He died March 3, 2002.

Education

Riddle was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. He received an associate degree from

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

and a bachelor's degree in education. Riddle received a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

degree in painting from

California State College Pennsylvania Western University, California (commonly known as PennWest California) is a public university campus in California, Pennsylvania and one of three campuses of Pennsylvania Western University, part of the Pennsylvania State System of ...

in Los Angeles. He taught art in high schools before moving to Atlanta in 1974 where he taught at

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman r ...

Work

Riddle's work often features

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s as subjects, and includes ''

Expelled Because of Their Color ''Expelled Because of Color'' is a bronze sculpture, tall, by John Thomas Riddle, Jr. It is located on the grounds of the Georgia State Capitol, 240 State Capitol SW, Atlanta, Georgia. It was commissioned in 1976 by the Georgia Legislative Bla ...

'', a sculpture commemorating the

Original 33 The "Original 33" were the first 33 African-American members of the Georgia General Assembly. They were elected to office in 1868, during the Reconstruction era. They were among the first African-American state legislators in the United States. T ...

, 33 African-American members of the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

who were elected in 1868 but expelled. Following the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles, Riddle collected metal debris after that he would then make into sculptures. Riddle was one of the artists featured in the documentary television program ''Renaissance in Black: Two Artists' Lives''. The

California African American Museum The California African American Museum (CAAM) is a museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, United States. The museum focuses on enrichment and education on the cultural heritage and history of African Americans with a focus o ...

held a retrospective of his work in 2003. His work is included in the permanent collections of the

Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) is a contemporary art museum located in Atlanta, Georgia. The museum collects and archives contemporary works by Georgia artists. MOCA GA uses its exhibition schedule to increase its permanen ...

, the

Brooklyn Museum of Art The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

and Georgia's State Art Collection. His bronze sculpture "

" is on the

Georgia State Capitol The Georgia State Capitol is an architecturally and historically significant building in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building has been named a National Historic Landmark which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As ...

grounds.

References

21st-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists 1933 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American painters 21st-century American sculptors American male painters American male sculptors Los Angeles City College alumni Artists from Los Angeles Spelman College faculty Painters from California Sculptors from California {{US-sculptor-stub