Kerry John Marshall has made it his life's work to change that imbalance as a truly thought provoking retrospective at the Met Breuer proves.
Contemporary images of African Americans rarely depict them enjoying ordinary activities more privileged people in this country are lucky enough to take for granted.
Deciphering Marshall's politics isn't difficult, even for the casual observer. He examines objectification of black women's bodies . . .
white media influence on children . . .
and the Civil Rights movement.
So much art incorporates religious symbolism. Marshall forces you to think about American racism instead. This painting reappropriates images associated with the Ku Klux Klan (lawns, white sheets, pointed hats, crosses and fire) for a less inflammatory if more charged scene.
Art class or slave auction?
I didn't "get" a series of three lockets (they're huge) until a label explained that Marshall used a newspaper photograph of "the gentler sex" who attended a lynching as his source material, copying their gazes exactly. This woman doesn't look exactly horrified, does she? The disturbing symbolism resonates on so many different levels.
Even Marshall's abstract work emphasizes the colors of the pan-African flag: red for the blood spilled during the colonial past, green for the verdant landscape and black for the people.
I won't soon forget the exhibit. It's a real wake-up call and long-overdue recognition for Marshall's incredible talent.
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