Black Quote by Kehinde Wiley
“I've jokingly painted some of my favorite collectors as black men, so there's a really great portrait of David LaChapelle, the photographer - my version of him - that's in his collection.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Artist statement, 2019
The artist humorously reimagines his favorite collectors as black men, creating a portrait that reflects his own perspective within the collector's own collection.
In simple terms: He paints collectors as black men for a personal portrait in their collection.
Key Takeaway
Use humor to reinterpret familiar subjects.
Themes
art
identity
humor
Mood
playful
provocative
Type
artistic
commentary
When to use this quote
- gallery exhibition
- personal projects
- artistic commentary
Key Concepts
reimagining
portraiture
Questions to Reflect On
- How does humor change perception of identity?
- What responsibilities come with reimagining others?
A Different Perspective
May be misinterpreted as cultural appropriation.
![“I think, at the L.A. County Museum of Art, I saw my first example of Kerry James Marshall, who had a very sort of heroic, oversized painting of black men in a barbershop. But it was painted on the same level and with the same urgency that you would see in a grand-scale [Anthony] van Dyck or…” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a08/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-think-at-the-l-a-county-museum-of-art_1563358.jpg)
![“[My picture A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self ] was a way of demonstrating that there was a broad range of possibilities and fairly unlimited utility for a black figure that didn't have to comprise its blackness in order to preserve a place in the field of representation.” quote by Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b2d/kerry-james-marshall-5157_art_my-picture-a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a_2641070.jpg)
