In Free F’All, artist Michael Richards (American, 1963–2001) presents a pilot with his eyes closed, wearing an aviator’s flight cap, goggles, and a parachute backpack. His arms and torso are pierced with dozens of nails.
The sculpture commemorates the Tuskegee Airmen, the US Air Force’s first Black unit. Formed in 1941, when the armed forces were segregated, the Airmen fought in World War II for a country that denigrated them. Despite the unit’s brave service and excellent combat record, its very existence reflected the racist belief that Black people were inferior to white Americans. Free F’All represents the complex experiences of Black servicemembers, honoring their valor and sacrifice in the face of discrimination.
The piece also speaks to Richards’s knowledge of art history. The nails reference Kongolese nkisi nkondi, powerful wooden figures that serve as community guardians. Driving a nail into a nkisi activates the figure and calls it forth to help. The nails also recall Western images of the Christian martyr Saint Sebastian, killed with arrows shot by his fellow Roman soldiers. Richards’s pilot may be experiencing violence, protection, or both.
Richards lost his life on September 11, 2001, while working at his studio in the World Trade Center’s North Tower. Twenty-five years later, Free F’All serves as an unintended memorial to the artist and a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, who came together 85 years ago.
Brooklyn Museum