Skip to content

People ask me why my figures have to be so black. There…

“People ask me why my figures have to be so black. There are a lot of reasons. First, the blackness is a rhetorical device. When we talk about ourselves as a people and as a culture, we talk about black history, black culture, black music. That's the rhetorical position we occupy.” quote by Kerry James Marshall
Download Open image
“People ask me why my figures have to be so black. There are a lot of reasons. First, the blackness is a rhetorical device. When we talk about ourselves as a people and as a culture, we talk about black history, black culture, black music. That's the rhetorical position we occupy.”

Kerry James Marshall

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He uses blackness as a deliberate rhetorical tool to foreground Black cultural narratives and counteract marginalization.

In simple terms: Blackness is used to highlight Black history and culture.

Key Takeaway

Employ visual choices to assert cultural identity.

Themes

art identity representation

Mood

critical assertive

Type

artistic political

When to use this quote

  • gallery exhibition
  • public mural
  • educational workshop
  • media interview

Key Concepts

visual rhetoric cultural politics

Questions to Reflect On

  • Why choose black as a symbolic language?
  • How does this choice affect viewer perception?
A Different Perspective

Might be misinterpreted as aesthetic preference alone.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Kerry James Marshall

Explore all 103 Kerry James Marshall quotes

More Black culture quotes

Browse all 90 Black culture quotes