Are You Down?

2′ 10″ x 22′ 6″ x 22′ 6″

Fiberglass, bronze bonded resin, concrete & black beauty sand

2000, Bronze Cast 2012

2000 FSP/Jerome Fellow

Michael Richards was the recipient of the Franconia Sculpture Park/Jerome Fellowship in 2000. Mr. Richards was in residence in 2000, during the last week of August and the first week of September. In that time he created the sculpture Are You Down? The large-scale work features three life-size human figures surrounding a target, which represent the artist in uniform as a Tuskegee Airman.

The multi-layered artwork raises awareness of the Tuskegee Airmen’s impact on World War II and the history of achieving civil rights for African Americans.

In 2001 Mr. Richards was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, where he was working in a studio through a fellowship with World Views, an artist-in-residence program sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

The original work was cast in fiberglass, a material that is not durable for long-term exposure to the elements. The Board and Staff of Franconia Sculpture Park developed a campaign to cast the three figures of Are You Down? in bronze to honor Michael’s work and legacy. The now bronze sculpture was dedicated in 2012 and is now permanently installed at Franconia Sculpture Park.

The permanent installation of Are You Down? restores and preserves the work, and provides the community access to a deeply important sculpture created by an artist whose prolific career was tragically cut short. For more information on Michael Richards, Are You Down? or Franconia Sculpture Park, please contact us at info@franconia.org.

Michael Richards

Studio Museum – Remembering Michael Richards

For the Artist Michael Richards by Glenn Gordon 

Three Poems by Ms. Marilyn Nelson

Born: Brooklyn, NY, USA, 1963

Education

MFA, New York University

BFA, Queens College