In Richmond, Virginia, for instance, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts features everything from mummies, to the works of great American artists such as John Singer Sargent, to sculptural elements like Russian Faberge eggs, to a model of a Roman villa.
While the VMFA boasts a large collection of art from all historical time periods, it also promotes a growing artistic movement known as “black art.”
This art is characterized by its political commentary, often designed to call attention to the oppression of minorities. Consider it the “Black Lives Matter” of the art world.
Black art became popular in the 1970’s when the Black Panthers began incorporating art into their movement.
Many of these works are uniquely composed, but often contain themes of brutality and violence not suitable for younger children.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in particular has several artists featured in their modern and contemporary exhibits who call attention to this abrasive movement.
Artist Kehinde Wiley’s artwork is openly violent towards the white population and often glorifies the violent Black Panther movement.
Wiley’s most controversial piece (currently held in private collection) is a spin-off of a popular Western portrait narrative, Judith and Holofernes, and simply depicts a black woman holding the severed head of a white woman. No other context is provided.
When asked about this portrait in an interview with the New Yorker in 2012, Wiley claimed, “It’s sort of a play on the ‘kill whitey’ thing.”
He then described his career as an artist in the current political climate.
“There’s this really exciting ability to talk about the presence of black and brown young people in the 21st century in painting,” Wiley said from his New York studio.
“Society is changing, and there’s all these subtle and major shifts in the way that we think about race that are occurring both here and abroad. How does my work respond to that? How can painting ever respond to that? It’s an exciting time to be an artist.”
Another portrait by Wiley is of a black man dressed in a Black Panther uniform entitled, Anthony of Padua, which he painted in support of the growing Black Lives Matter movement—a movement he claims, “Hasn’t gone far enough.”
Despite his open subversion towards whites, one of his most prominent works in the gallery is a portrait entitled Willem Van Heythuysen. It features an irate black person dressed in sweatpants and work boots, meant to reflect English Imperialism in an ironic fashion.
This portrait is also meant to represent the resistance against “white supremacy” in the form of an ironic twist in traditional portraiture.
As one of the most prominent artists in current black art, Wiley was also chosen to paint Obama’s infamous Presidential portrait.
Fortunately, works by Wiley are only on display in the Contemporary and Modern Galleries, leaving the large array of artwork throughout the rest of the museum free to enjoy.
Have a picnic with your family in the sculpture gardens or take a walk along the waterfall stairs that lead down to the museum’s entrance.
And with Carytown only blocks away, there are dozens of fantastic shops and restaurants to make it a day full of fun!
