ticketsMember | Make a donation

Attorney Street (Handball Court with Autobiographical Poem by Piñero)

Martin Wong American
1982–84
Not on view
Attorney Street commemorates the multiethnic Lower East Side neighborhood where Wong lived. Here he depicts a handball court that had recently been tagged with graffiti. At the top is a poem by Puerto Rican author Miguel Piñero, who boasts about his adventures in crime, addiction, poverty, and violence. The poem’s sudden bursts of speech form a staccato rhythm that culminates with the outrageous declaration, "Slapped Jesus in the face and ran Satan out of town." Wong used the manual alphabet to finger spell the title and his name on the top part of the frame. Each line of the phrase in the cartouche on the lower frame is transliterated, using the manual alphabet, in the foreground. Ultimately, the painting conveys the noise, hyperactive energy, and multilingual jumble of New York.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Attorney Street (Handball Court with Autobiographical Poem by Piñero)
  • Artist: Martin Wong (American, Portland, Oregon 1946–1999 San Francisco, California)
  • Artist: Miguel Piñero (American (born Puerto Rico), Gurabo 1946–1988 New York)
  • Date: 1982–84
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: Painting+Artist frame: 42 in. × 54 1/4 in. (106.7 × 137.8 cm)
    Painting (without artist frame): 35 1/2 × 47 7/8 in. (90.2 × 121.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Edith C. Blum Fund, 1984
  • Object Number: 1984.110
  • Rights and Reproduction: © The Estate of Martin Wong
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Black Abstraction, Georgia O'Keeffe American, Oil on canvas
Black Abstraction
Georgia O'Keeffe
1927
Self-Portrait as a Photographer, Yasuo Kuniyoshi American, born Japan, Oil on canvas
Self-Portrait as a Photographer
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
1924
Tables for Ladies, Edward Hopper American, Oil on canvas
Tables for Ladies
Edward Hopper
1930
Americana, Charles Sheeler American, Oil on canvas
Americana
Charles Sheeler
1931
Untitled, Norman Lewis American, Oil on canvas
Untitled
Norman Lewis
1978

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.