Visual Culture
Since the start of the Internet-driven #BlackLivesMatter movement in 2012, following the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and amplified by innumerable incidents since, artists have sought to represent its issues visually and conceptually—from police brutality to structural inequality to trans violence. The Black Lives Matter website states: "Every 28 hours a black man, woman, or child is murdered by police or vigilante law enforcement in America." It's a reality that has pulled the #BlackLivesMatter movement from social media to the streets. It is also what has motivated a multitude of artists to integrate themes of social justice directly relating to Black Lives Matter into their work. #BlackLivesMatter further brought upon the call, request, and demand for much needed change. A visual response was created and there was not stopping this powerful wave.
Public Spotlight:
Inside Out - Black Lives Matter
Baltimore, United States
Black Lives Matter is a visual reponse to the #BlackLivesMatter movement created by Morgan State University's Visual Art Department . The artistic movement aims to shed light on the presence of invisible boundaries and limitations placed on black people throughout different facets of their lives. The site is filled with photography, videos, murals, and artworks created by the department. Stunning and discussion starting they voice opinions normally lost in the chaos of the media
"Art is not news. Art has a very long arc in our cultural and social spaces, it creates images that we return to. The very visual presence of Black Lives Matter has facilitated conversations that I would not have had, if I had not brought the language into the space of my work. It's a long-term process."- Titus Kaphar
It's clear that artists have helped to encapsulate and even advance the Black Lives Matter movement, through work that responds to its contemporary race issues. Through painting, drawing, film, conceptual pieces, and the mere act of creation itself, makers and curators have driven home the message that black lives more than matter. Examples of visual culture from activist art, to news photographs, to individual responses, are listed below, each voicing powerful perspectives of the Black Lives Matter movement. Additional information on each visual culture medium can be found by clicking the large icon at the top of each showcase
Inside Out -
Black Lives Matter Participant Portraits
Inside Out - Black Lives Matter
Visual Culture Movement Video:
Hank Willis Thomas
"I don't believe that having a specific hue of skin should obligate or validate who they are. I believe that the more voices that feel compelled to speak out against injustice, the better. The fact of the matter is that broad injustice takes place everyday and all the time. The question for me is, 'How do we find new and innovative ways to respond and call out when we are overaturated with images, music, and text designed to nullify us?' I'm still in search of answers."
Right: Hank Willis Thomas, "Two Little Prisoners", 2014, oil on canvas.
Artist Spotlight:
Respond - Black Lives Matter
Brooklyn, NY, USA
After the recent murder of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, 148 artists showed work at the alternative art space Smack Mellon in a show entitled Respond. The show included a diverse group of artists who contributed a wide range of work that served as an investigation to the ongoing failure of the nation to protect its black citizens. The show recived public acclaim and futher stressed the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Titus Kaphar Titus Kaphar
"The Jerome Project" 2014 "1968/2014", 2014
Asphalt and Chalk White Paint over Protest Photographs
Jordan Casteel
"Each of us, through our various forms of expression, are contributing to an expanded notion of what it means it be black in America today. The basis of the movement is to draw attention to the value we place on life — more specifically, black life. We can scrutinize society’s value system by making a body human that has historically been seen as less than. I think the way artists continue to give to the Black Lives Matter movement is by sharing their individual voices in order to bring power and understanding to a united goal — no one person is the same or should be judged as such."
Left: Jordan Casteel, Galen, 2014, Oil on Canvas.
Film Spotlight:
Shikeith Cathey - #Blackmendream
#Blackmendream(2014) is a 45-minute experimental documentary that creates a virtual “safe space” through hashtagging, enabling Black males to pull apart emotional restrictions often denied through crossroads of race and gender.
Released as a short-term public work in December 2014 the film has received much critical acclaim (NPR, The Atlantic, Arts & America) and was listed by Tribeca Film Institute in 2015, as one of 10 films that exemplify the Black American experience. Most importantly, the call to action has encouraged posts across social media that are taking the shape of literary and visual forms of expression germane to race, identity, and psychological well-being.
Artist Spotlight:
Kehinde Wiley
Wiley’s portraits of young black men and other people of color — rendered in oil paintings, bronze, stained glass and video — are deliberately at odds with many images common in American mass media. His work continues the discussion on race and justice begun by the Black Lives Matter movement. The black men and women in Wiley's portraits are graceful, alluring and powerful. By placing the figures in religious contexts and triumphant historical pieces a part of Western art, he elevates the forms for a new audience.
Top: The Lamentation Over the Dead Christ, 2008, Oil on Canvas
Left: Femme Piquee Par Un Serpent, 2008, Oil on Canvas
Right: Christian Martyr Tarcicus, 2008, Oil on Canvas
Activist Spotlight:
Creative Resistance - A Showcase for Activist Art
A website featuring hundreds of artists and artworks playing a part in the Black Lives Matter movement. You too can join the discussion and speak your opinion here:
