30 Americans

As the years have passed, I've grown more and more fond of contemporary art, most notably African American Contemporary Art. There was a time not too long ago where Black artistry only existed through the filtered perceptions of the Caucasian eye. It was only when the Black Arts Movement came along, a new Black aesthetic was born, an aesthetic that was far too long needed, in order to create a vision of beauty with a black face. During my break from school, I took a train ride to go see the absolutely breathtaking work of 30 of the most influential and talented African American contemporary artists, in the Corcoran Museum. This thought provoking and captivating exhibit not only focused on the contemporary racial, social, and sexual identity of the African but also gave a stage to its rich historical legacy as the American.

Two of my personal favorite artists in the exhibit were young Kehide Wiley and the ever-famous Xaviera Simmons. 

Kehide Wiley

"Sleep"

This painting is almost 25 feet high and takes up an entire wall in the Corcoran. This photo does not do it justice. The immaculate details are jaw dropping. 

Xaviera Simmons

"One Day and Back Then"

Xaviera Simmons

"One Day Back Then"

The exhibit displayed various mediums of artwork like photography, video, painting, mixed media, and sculpture. Often times I found myself wondering, what was this particular artist thinking when he or she began this project. How was it that a single mind could create such captivating pieces of beauty? It was then I understood, that even though an artist may act alone, his artistry is undoubtedly fueled by the experiences of self and of those existing around him. But nonetheless, I can say that though this was a spectacular exhibit some of the pieces were rather dull and left me uninspired. And I assume that's true of all art; you either love it or you don’t. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I do rather hope that Corcoran decides to continue to do exhibit's such as this, label-less and unsuspecting, 30 Americans is a jab at our human tendency to assume the normative, and filter what we consider to subjective and objective through the racial eye, only to remind us that everything is not as it seems.