This Southern Modernism artwork captures the political tension in 1962 and the topic of desegregation. Paul Dufour was an art professor at LSU between 1959-1983 and this piece of art has both historical interest and value. Dufour trained at Yale under the Bauhaus master Josef Albers.

The Federal vs State Clash:

Following the monumental Baton Rouge Sit-Ins and legal challenges at Louisiane State University (LSU) and Southern University, the federal courts were issuing strict mandates ordering integration. In fience resistance, the segregationist Louisiana Legislature was consinously passing defient "Resolutions of Interposition" in an attempt to legally block or nullify federal civil rights laws.

The Metaphor: By juxtaposing the word "RESOLUTION" with the worker titled "The Stoneman", Dufour is offering a biting critique. The "Stoneman" represents the unyielding, immovable "stonewall" of the white segregationist establishment (and its historical Confererate monuments), trying to manually lock a regressive political resolution into place. During the 1960s, both civil rights activists and segregationist groups relied heavily on print shops to mass produce print material to spread their messages. The printers (stonemen), were defining the local "revolution" on the streets of Baton Rouge. The printer is physically hammering out a legal "resolution" serving as a metaphor for how rigid Southern Institutions were desperately trying to manually typeset and freeze out a segregated way of life. 

Art collectors and institutions that focus on the cultural response to desegregation in the South would find this art compeling and a great addition to their archives and collection.

Outside frame measures 20.25 inches by 17.25 inches tall.

Will sell and ship in original frame and mat and glass (as found). Would certainly benefit from a reframing to expose the writing currently hidden by the cheap old mat.