Untitled (Isaac Hayes – Double Portrait), c.1973-1974
Oil paint and wax crayon on wood
40 X 22.5 in (101.6 x 57.15 cm)
When Isaac Hayes walked on stage at Wattstax in 1972, he forever cemented his status as a cultural icon. To the celebratory crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Hayes was indeed “Black Moses”, leading his people to the promised land of love and soul, freedom from strife and the road to a new future. The two sides of Hayes captured in this double portrait, though separate, remain connected by the music – the soulful essence of each figure clearly visible. If the storyboard screenplay of Goodbread Alley had a soundtrack, Hayes was a featured performer, and Young, the producer, director and writer – with one take only for an epic creation never to be duplicated again.