Bisa Butler’s “The Harlem Hellfighters” — American Art Moments

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Get to know the historic figures behind Bisa Butler’s monumental quilt Don’t Tread on Me, God Damn, Let’s Go! — The Harlem Hellfighters with Nora Atkinson, the Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-in-Charge for SAAM’s Renwick Gallery. Learn about the Harlem Hellfighters, who served in the 369th Infantry Regiment during World War I, view archival footage of the troop in action, and discover the artistry Butler uses to pay homage to the soldiers.

This video is part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's ongoing series American Art Moments. Join a SAAM expert and go beyond the artwork label to discover the untold stories and rich connections represented in some of the museum's most iconic artworks.

- (Nora Atkinson) Bisa Butler is, one of the most exciting contemporary artists today working in the field of textiles, creating these extraordinary pieces of narrative art featuring portraits of Black Americans and people of African descent entirely based on photography.

She has become one of the foremost quilters in the nation. It’s really extraordinary the way these photographs, mostly black and white photographs come to life in her hands, through the fabrics she chooses, through her choices of color and pattern.
This work in the Renwick’s collection is titled “Don't Tread On Me, God Damn, Let's Go! - The Harlem Hellfighters” features nine full figures and is approximately 11 feet wide.
So, the Harlem Hellfighters, the 369th Infantry Regiment; were a group of soldiers who fought in World War I. Woodrow Wilson decided the US would enter the war in 1917, but it's worth noting that the American military was not desegregated until 1948. The Harlem Hellfighters were a regiment made up entirely of Black soldiers. And, because their white counterparts were not willing to fight alongside them, they were detailed to the French for the duration of the war. They spent an unbelievable 191 days in combat, the longest of any regiment in the war.
For their extraordinary bravery and valor on the battlefield, the Harlem Hellfighters received the Croix de Guerre, which is the highest military honor of the French government, literally the Cross of War.
When the Harlem Hellfighters set out to the war, they were not allowed to participate in the going-away events but, on their return, the Harlem Hellfighters were the first regiment to hit American soil. They had a hero’s welcome. The crowds cheered as they headed up Fifth Avenue, but contemporary reports say that the cheers sounded like a whisper compared to the roar that was let out when they turned up the street towards Harlem.
The photograph on which “The Harlem Hellfighters” was based is a photograph from the National Archives of the day the Harlem Hellfighters returned to the US. And of course, this is only one small group of a massive infantry regiment.
And although Bisa often works from photographs of anonymous people, in this case we actually know the soldiers’ names.
You see the French Croix de Guerre on all of the soldiers. On a couple of the soldiers, she's chosen to depict some of the awards that the Harlem Hellfighters received posthumously for their achievements. So you do see the Medal of Honor and the Congressional Medal of Honor depicted on some of the soldiers here. It took nearly 80 years for the first recognition to come from their own government.
The beauty of Bisa's work is that it immediately sings all the way from across the room. But as you get closer and closer, you get so much more information. These are entirely quilted. 100% of what you see is done in fabric. There's no paint applied to these surfaces. She's layering translucent fabrics so that you get ideas of light and depth.
So, you can see here Butler's characteristic translucent jewel toned fabrics in the faces. She often uses up to eight layers of fabrics and pieces them together in a kind of mosaic style in these beautiful blues and reds.
There are so many elements, so many layered stories that you can find in this.
Birds for instance appear in the work often, representing freedom. I love the treatment here that Bisa has done: this sash. The sash was originally the backpack sash of these soldiers. And in this case, Bisa has instead given the soldiers a sort of regal quality by using kente cloth. So, they become a kind of royalty here.
There is the quilting itself, which is really quite extraordinary and particularly at this scale.
Bisa still works entirely alone on these quilts, even though she's gone to such massive scale at this stage in her career. This is the largest work that Bisa has done to date. “The Harlem Hellfighters” took almost two years to complete.
Bisa's work is always a showstopper. There’s a joyousness to it, the color and the depth of it.
Each one of these soldiers has his own story that's being told through this marriage of fabrics.

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Bisa Butler’s “The Harlem Hellfighters” — American Art Moments

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Visit Planning

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Collection Highlights

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Bisa Butler’s ​“The Harlem Hellfighters” — American Art Moments

Bisa Butler’s “The Harlem Hellfighters” — American Art Moments