--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were certain expectations that were…" description: "\"There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then 20th-century artist.\" — Kehinde Wiley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/kehinde-wiley-1194_20th-century_there-were-certain-expectations-that-wer_77672.jpg" --- # There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as… ![“There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then 20th-century artist.” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/kehinde-wiley-1194_20th-century_there-were-certain-expectations-that-wer_77672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/kehinde-wiley-1194_20th-century_there-were-certain-expectations-that-wer_77672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/kehinde-wiley-1194_20th-century_there-were-certain-expectations-that-wer_77672.jpg) > “There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then 20th-century artist.” [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker describes how societal expectations were imposed on them as a young Black American artist in the 20th century, highlighting the pressure of racial and cultural stereotypes. **In simple terms:** Imposed expectations on a Black artist. Key Takeaway Stereotypes shape artistic identity. Themes identity race artistic pressure historical context stereotypes Mood reflective determined Type personal social When to use this quote - museum exhibition - art school interview - gallery opening - cultural critique panel Key Concepts social expectations racial identity artistic expression Practical Applications - curating inclusive exhibitions - educational workshops on bias Questions to Reflect On - How do expectations influence creative choices? - In what ways can artists subvert imposed narratives? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [20th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Assumed Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumed-young-1000550/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-american/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-expectations-1000549/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Expectations Assumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations-assumed-1000551/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-black-309354/) ## Related quotes > [The expectations of the viewer are what you're asking about. And the expectations of the viewer are manifold. However, they are very fixed, given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/the-expectations-of-the-viewer-are-what-you-re-asking-about-and-the/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [My peers at the time: you know, young black kids from off the streets of Harlem, having these conversations with me in my small,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-peers-at-the-time-you-know-young-black-kids-from-off-the-streets/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I happen to be a twin. I grew up half of my life with someone who looks and sounds like me. And I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-happen-to-be-a-twin-i-grew-up-half-of-my-life-with-someone-who/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The performance of black American identity feels very different from actually living in a black body. There's a dissonance between inside and outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/the-performance-of-black-american-identity-feels-very-different-from/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The reality of Barack Obama being the president of the United States - quite possibly the most powerful nation in the world - means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/the-reality-of-barack-obama-being-the-president-of-the-united-states/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [What's interesting about young black American artists within the twentieth century, and increasingly within the twenty-first as well, is that there's this expectation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/what-s-interesting-about-young-black-american-artists-within-the/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [In the end, so much of what I wanted to do was to have a body of work that exhaustively looked at black American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/in-the-end-so-much-of-what-i-wanted-to-do-was-to-have-a-body-of-work/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Questlove is an artist who I respect because he constantly shifts within the idiom, challenging perceptions of hip-hop and black American culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/questlove-is-an-artist-who-i-respect-because-he-constantly-shifts/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [When we have children, we have certain expectations of what the future will hold - rightly or wrongly - and it's hard to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleen-nolan/when-we-have-children-we-have-certain-expectations-of-what-the-future/) [Coleen Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleen-nolan/) > [Growing up, there was a lot of pressure to live up to certain expectations and money as if I was rich and stuff. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-canseco/growing-up-there-was-a-lot-of-pressure-to-live-up-to-certain/) [Josie Canseco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-canseco/) > [People have certain expectations from me, and I want to do different characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/disha-patani/people-have-certain-expectations-from-me-and-i-want-to-do-different/) [Disha Patani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/disha-patani/) > [Because I also teach college, I am around a lot of young women who are just starting out, and I often see them coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-johnson/because-i-also-teach-college-i-am-around-a-lot-of-young-women-who-are/) [Liza Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-johnson/) > [It's the way the business works, you're not just an actor, you're a diplomat and a publicist and a politician, and there are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/it-s-the-way-the-business-works-you-re-not-just-an-actor-you-re-a/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [Everything we do in life, we do with certain expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/everything-we-do-in-life-we-do-with-certain-expectations/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [There are certain expectations placed on writers if other people have put a value on their gender. I'm aware of the hundreds of tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laeta-kalogridis/there-are-certain-expectations-placed-on-writers-if-other-people-have/) [Laeta Kalogridis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laeta-kalogridis/) ## More by Kehinde Wiley > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The erotic and the art historical imagination is something that gets very little play when people talk about my work, and when they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/the-erotic-and-the-art-historical-imagination-is-something-that-gets/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [At its best, what art does is, it points to who we as human beings and what we as human beings value. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/at-its-best-what-art-does-is-it-points-to-who-we-as-human-beings-and/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [My style is in the 21st century. If you look at the process, it goes from photography through Photoshop, where certain features are heightened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-style-is-in-the-21st-century-if-you-look-at-the-process-it-goes/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think the world that I grew up in was like being in this sort of magical artistic garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-the-world-that-i-grew-up-in-was-like-being-in-this-sort-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [It was something that came sort of matter-of-factually. Because there - it's like really - real honest engagement with the people around me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/it-was-something-that-came-sort-of-matter-of-factually-because-there/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [We're wired to be empathetic and to care about the needs of others, but also to be curious about others. And I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/we-re-wired-to-be-empathetic-and-to-care-about-the-needs-of-others/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Painting is situational. And my particular situation exists within gender, race, class, sexuality, nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/painting-is-situational-and-my-particular-situation-exists-within/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think, something that you might be able to locate in the work that I'm creating today: the ability to look at a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-something-that-you-might-be-able-to-locate-in-the-work-that-i/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I remember the first time I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and saw a Kerry James Marshall painting with black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-the-los-angeles-county-museum-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I believe that artists should be part of the culture. I think that my work clearly bears that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-believe-that-artists-should-be-part-of-the-culture-i-think-that-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I guess art is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-guess-art-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Just physically, if you looked at the house that I grew up in, my mother created this greenhouse. And surrounded the entire property. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/just-physically-if-you-looked-at-the-house-that-i-grew-up-in-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [My interest is in completing an image that is spectacular beyond belief. My fidelity is to the image and the art and not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-interest-is-in-completing-an-image-that-is-spectacular-beyond/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Explore all 275 Kehinde Wiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) [Browse all 672 20th century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then 20th-century artist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kehinde Wiley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-were-certain-expectations-that-were-assumed-of-me-as-a-young/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "20th century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-were-certain-expectations-that-were-assumed-of-me-as-a-young/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/kehinde-wiley-1194_20th-century_there-were-certain-expectations-that-wer_77672.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/kehinde-wiley-1194_20th-century_there-were-certain-expectations-that-wer_77672.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/kehinde-wiley-1194_20th-century_there-were-certain-expectations-that-wer_77672.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then…” — Kehinde Wiley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kehinde Wiley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There were certain expectations that were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-were-certain-expectations-that-were-assumed-of-me-as-a-young/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-were-certain-expectations-that-were-assumed-of-me-as-a-young/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```