Six Degrees of Separation
Artist
James McMullan
United States, born 1934
Date1990
Dimensions82 x 41 1/2 in. (208.3 x 105.4 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.6643
DescriptionWhile McMullan worked from photographs he took of the lead actor, James McDaniel, his use of color and line here is strongly influenced by the late 19th-century lithographic work of the British Beggarstaff Brothers. The play itself follows a charismatic, queer Black man who cons his way into the homes of various white families, grifting what he can before moving on to his next mark. Rather than focusing on a moment of action, McMullan shows the main character locking eyes with the viewer, essentially allowing him to seduce passersby as he does his targets in the story. Approximately two months after this poster first appeared on the streets of New York, Lincoln Center determined that people presumed the play was “too Black” and asked McMullan to create an alternative composition. The new version of the poster placed Stockard Channing behind McDaniel; he now looked casually at the viewer while she lovingly gazed down at him. On View
Not on view
