Ghost of the Galveston Giant
Artist
William R. Mayer (American, June 28 1953 – November 11 2017)
Date
2010Medium
Porcelain and glazed earthenwareDimensions
Work : 13 x 13 x 4 1/2 in. (33.02 x 33.02 x 11.43 cm)Credit Line
Gift of Michel Conroy in memory of Billy MayerObject Number
2018.34
Label
Originally from Minnesota, Billy Mayer taught sculpture and ceramics at Hope College from 1978 until his unexpected death in 2017. Boxing gloves and punching bags are recurring motifs in Mayer’s art, symbolizing American culture’s fetishization of masculinity and violence. The title of this sculpture alludes to the nickname of Jack Johnson (1878-1946), America’s first African-American boxing champion and an influential advocate for civil rights at the height of the Jim Crow era. Mayer created the sculpture during a residency at the Herend Porcelain Manufactory in Hungary.
