Our Town is part of Kerry James Marshall’s Garden Project series, in which low-income housing projects are rendered idyllic. The carefully painted houses, manicured lawn, and bright sky coexist uneasily with graffiti and trees tied with yellow ribbons, suggesting war or tragedy.

Marshall contrasts the tidy scene with deep black paint, intentionally emphasizing the blackness of his subjects. Our Town further evokes Thornton Wilder’s play of the same title, posing the question: for whom does this American ideal really exist?