Michael Richards: Are You Down?

The first monograph dedicated to the legacy of an under-recognized artist who passed on September 11, 2001 American artist Michael Richards (1963–2001) was born in Brooklyn and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. Integral to a generation of Black artists emerging in the 1990s, Richards’ work gestures toward reprieve from social injustices, often in the context of the historic and ongoing oppression of Black people. Richards’ exploration of freedom and escape centered on themes of flight and aviation, with which he engaged through the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, Greek mythology, Christianity and African and African American folklore. His nascent career was cut short when he passed away on September 11, 2001, while working in his Lower Manhattan Cultural Council studio in the World Trade Center. This monograph, published on the occasion of the major touring retrospective exhibition Are You Down?, centers his life and work by attending to the historical and contemporary significance of his practice. An invaluable resource on the artist, the publication is amplified by an expansive critical essay by editors Alex Fialho and Melissa Levin, essays by acclaimed writer Edwidge Danticat and curator Franklin Sirmans, as well as a personal reflection by the artist’s cousin and steward of his estate, Dawn Dale, and contributions from artists, curators and scholars who knew Richards personally or have engaged with his work closely.