Semester 2 - Week 5 - Kehinde Wiley

Last weeks ALVC class focused on the Post Modern them "INTERTEXTUALITY", re-read Extract 1 The death of the author on page 44 of your ALVC books and respond to the oil paintings of Kehinde Wiley. How do we make sense of his Kehinde's work? Identify intertextuality in Kehinde's work?
Kehinde's work relates to this weeks Post Modern theme "PLURALISM" re-read page 50 and discuss how the work relates to this theme?
Kehinde's work raises questions around social/cultural hierarchies , colonisation, globalisation, stereotypes and the politics which govern a western worldview.
Information on specific paintings was difficult to obtain however Matt has the info for the last 2 paintings.

3. Kehinde Wiley Count Potocki, 2008 oil on canvas, 274.3 x 274.3cm

4. Kehinde Wiley Support Army and Look after People, 2007 oil on canvas, 258.4 x 227.3cm

I think Kehinde's works are almost a clash between medieval and the modern day iconic hip hop look, also i think his works are very busy, almost cluttered, this is because of the background and the figures becoming one image, making it difficult to look at for long periods.Kehinde's works relate are shown with Pluralism as his works incorporates the diversity of ethnicity's, economic status, religions and ideologies, the work takes a 'what if' role as Black men are portrayed as an renaissance upper class men, which was not the type of thing you would see back then.

Kehinde Wiley was born in Los Angeles, California in 1977, he is a New York based painter who is known for his paintings of contemporary urban African American men in poses taken from the various parts of art history, so its almost as if he is bringing back the past so it is not lost or forgotten by the world, His painting style has been compared to that of such traditional portraitists as Reynolds, Gainsborough, Titian and Ingres.
Kehinde's works are based on photographs of young men. Most of these paintings are of men that Wiley has met himself out on the streets, this all began last year with men being mostly from Harlem’s 125th Street, one of Americas many well known neighbourhoods for its crime and its current economic status, the series now includes models from the South Central the neighborhood where he was born. These Paintings are of men dressed in street clothes similar to what you would see in a rap video, the men are asked to pose from the paintings of the Renaissance masters, such as Titian and Tiepolo. he also brings in a feminine style to his paintings by adding the floral Victorian designs in the background, this and the vibrant colours bring the image to life.