Comments on: Krista Thompson “Of Shine, Bling, and Bixels” and thoughts on class and aesthetics

By: Lynne d Johnson

Lynne d Johnson — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:40:35 +0000

I definitely like the way you're thinking.

"I think that's partly the success of my work-the ability to straddle both of those worlds, the ability to have a young black girl walk into the Brooklyn Museum and see paintings she recognizes not because of their art or historical influence but because of their inflection, in terms of colors, their specificity and presence." KW in an interview w/MIA in Interview http://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/kehinde-wi...

So perhaps it's the same for him to straddle the worlds of hiphop and these other periods of artistic influence. To be part of, dare I say it, low culture, and high culture at the same time -- juxtaposed, taking the subject out of the streets of BK, Harlem, or LA, and putting them in this other world to make them visible? Mainly I feel that what I'm saying is what you're saying...I'm just taking a while to get there.

Thanks again for this post and for engaging with me.

By: tiffanybbrown

tiffanybbrown — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:27:23 +0000

I think that's another way to read his works. I noticed that these portraits highlight the subjects' femininity. That's equally due to floral and wallpaper backdrops and the Renaissance poses and fashion that seem really effeminate compared to those of modern American (black) masculinity.

Maybe that's another layer of meaning in Wiley's works: the invisibility of black gay men in a culture that expects its gay men to be effeminate and its black men to be uber masculine.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:26:00 +0000

I think that’s another way to read his works. I noticed that these portraits highlight the subjects’ femininity. That’s equally due to floral and wallpaper backdrops and the Renaissance poses and fashion that seem really effeminate compared to those of modern American (black) masculinity.

Maybe that’s another layer of meaning in Wiley’s works: the invisibility of black gay men in a culture that expects its gay men to be effeminate and its black men to be uber masculine.

By: Lynne d Johnson

Lynne d Johnson — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:34:04 +0000

Break it down Tiffany, bring it. Thanks for introducing us to this woman and for letting us in to how your brain works. I'm moved by this artist's work, bc I've always associated it with the banjee (read homo thug) an effeminate masculine man. I love his use of color and perspective of black male life. I'm hoping to add one of his pieces to my collection. Thanks for making me love his work more and again, dropping science.

By: Michelle_Jones

Michelle_Jones — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:03:03 +0000

I'm sorry I don't have a relevant comment I just want to say: Damn, you're smart.

And bell hooks is from Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She spoke at the Women Study's conference at WKU my freshman year in college. She was just as nice as she was smart. It was incredibly inspirational to hear her speak.