Portland Public Library

Kehinde Wiley, an archaeology of silence, Claudia Schmuckli with Valerie Cassel Oliver and Emil Wilbekin and Janna Keegan

eng

Includes bibliographical references

contains biographical information

illustrations

no index present

non fiction

Kehinde Wiley

catalogsbibliography

1360271410

Claudia Schmuckli with Valerie Cassel Oliver and Emil Wilbekin and Janna Keegan

an archaeology of silence

"An Archaeology of Silence presents a collection of monumental paintings and sculptures, expanding on Kehinde Wiley's body of work DOWN from 2008. Initially inspired by Holbein's painting The Dead Christ in the Tomb (1520-22) as well as historical paintings and sculptures of fallen warriors and figures in the state of repose, Wiley created an unsettling series of prone Black bodies, re-conceptualizing classical pictorial forms to create a contemporary version of monumental portraiture, resounding with violence, pain, and death, as well as ecstasy. For this new body of work, Wiley has expanded these core thematic elements to meditate on the deaths of young Black men slain all over the world. Technology allows viewers to witness these graphic depictions of violence against the Black body that were once silenced. Wiley states, "That is the archaeology I am unearthing: The spectre of police violence and state control over the bodies of young Black and Brown people all over the world." In light of the current global conflicts, language concerning power struggles and inalienable human rights are more critical than ever. The new portraits depict young Black men and women in positions of vulnerability that tell a story of survival and resilience, revealing the beauty that can emerge from the horrific. These poses, borrowed from Western European art historical sources, function as beautiful elegies echoing a central metaphor of youth and resilience and stand as monuments to endurance and perseverance in the face of savagery, incorporating a scale that pushes beyond the mere corporeal and into the realm of spiritual icons, of martyrs and saints." -- provided by the artist:, https://kehindewiley.com/exhibitions/2022-2/"American artist Kehinde Wiley's new body of paintings and sculptures confronts the silence surrounding systemic violence against Black people through the visual language of the fallen figure. It expands on his 2008 series, Down -- a group of large-scale portraits of young Black men inspired by Hans Holbein the Younger's The Dead Christ in the Tomb (1521-1522). Wiley investigates the iconography of death and sacrifice in Western art, tracing it across religious, mythological, and historical subjects. In An Archaeology of Silence, the senseless deaths of men and women around the world are transformed into a powerful elegy of resistance. The resulting paintings of figures struck down, wounded, or dead, referencing iconic paintings of mythical heroes, martyrs, and saints, offer a haunting meditation on the legacies of colonialism and systemic racism." -- provided by publisher:, https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/kehinde-wiley-an-archaeology-of-silence

Archaeology of silence