Watermelon Heaven

Watermelon Heaven

Anthony Ramos
1972, 32:44 min, b&w, sound

Description

The duration of this early black-and-white performance work follows Ramos eating the entirety of a watermelon, slice by slice. The artist sits outdoors at a small dining table with a white table cloth, positioned directly in front of the camera as he makes his way through the fruit and a full bottle of wine. In the background, a radio surfs through Christian programming celebrating Easter Sunday. Ramos prods at and riffs on the racist, anti-Black tropes around watermelon, magnifying the gluttony of his consumption against the fervor of Easter day radio messaging.