Week 4 - Kehinde Wiley and inter-textuality

Kehinde Wiley

1. Untitled (2009)

2. Untitled(2009)

3. Kehinde Wiley Count Potocki, 2008 oil on canvas, 274.3 x 274.3cm

4. Kehinde Wiley Support Army and Look after People, 2007 oil on canvas, 258.4 x 227.3cm

Kehinde Wiley is a Gay American based painter born in Los Angeles, who has an international reputation. Wiley lives and practices between Beijing and Brooklyn.


This weeks ALVC class focuses on the Postmodern theme "INTERTEXTUALITY", re-read Extract 

The death of the author on page 44 of your ALVC books and respond to the oil paintings of Kehinde Wiley. 

1. Find a clear definition of Intertextuality and quote it accurately on your blog using the APA referencing system. Use your own words to explain the definition more thoroughly. 

The communication between author and reader is always paired with an intertextual relation between words and their prior existence in past texts. As Kristeva stated: “any text is constructed as a mosaic of quotations; any text is the absorption and transformation of another” (Kristeva 1980).

The cencept of 'Intertextuality' has double focus. Fristly,  it makes our focus to the importance of previous texts, what is the communication or theme of a work and how it does only because exist things have previously been written. And it also focuses on intelligibility, this concept of 'intertextuality'  make us to consider  the contribution of  prior texts to the work.

2. Research Wiley's work and write a paragraph that analyzes how we might make sense of his work. Identify intertextuality in Wiley's work.

Kehinde Wiley has created large, vibrant, highly patterned paintings of young African American men wearing very modern hip hop street fashion. However, the poses of the men and the other objects in the portraits are based on well-known images of powerful figures drawn from seventeenth- through nineteenth-century Western art. 

"The models, dressed in their everyday clothing--most of which are based on the notion of far-reaching Western ideals of style--are asked to assume poses found in paintings or sculptures representative of the history of their surroundings."

Although Wiley's worked in post modernity, but his work are highly related to the previous oil painting. The intertextually show in Wiley's work is the relation between classical painting and modern ideas. 

http://akkad-design.com/KehindeWiley/Gallery/index_Bio.html

3. Wiley's work relates to next weeks Postmodern theme "PLURALISM" . Read page 51 and discuss how the work relates to this theme.

According to Caldwell (1999): "Pluralism in art refers to the nature of art forms and artists as diverse. The culture context of art is all encompassing in its respect for the art of the word's cultures. Inclusion of individuals of differing ethnicities, genders, ideologies, abilities, ages, religions, economic status and educational levels is valued. Pluralism honors differences between equitable groups while seeing their commonalities."

Wiley's work has related to Pluralism within combine his painting western old style portrait with pop culture, such as hip hop and street art. Part of Wiley's process was lifting his subjects straight from the street and rendering them-complete with sneakers, track pants, tank tops, and team caps-in the visual language of classic European portraiture. 

4. Comment on how Wiley's work raises questions around social/cultural hierarchies , colonisation, globalisation, stereotypes and the politics which govern a western worldview. 

Wiley's work is highly to the concept of "globalization". As his practice going, his thought and focus of art  toward to an international view, which including some models found in urban of various places and accumulate to a vast body of work. Further more,  Wiley has shown different culture in his work, some of his model are black males, which showing his focus on  immigration and colonization. 

5. Add some reflective comments of your own, which may add more information that
you have read during your research.

Kehinde Wiley, Sleep, 2008, Oil on canvas

        Kehinde Wiley Sleep  (2008) Oil on canvas

From the work "Sleep"(2008) of Kehinde Wiley, A black male was sleeping surrounded by flowers and there was only a sheet which he wore. As the object of flowers, man's body,Wiley has present the males' love through some of his work, which I think is because he is a gay. This is a challenge that persent a delicate subject by using the old painting method. 

Most of Wiley's work are present the latest issue or theme by using classical way of painting. I think this is highly making sense. 

http://www.cretique.com/archives/4012

http://www.deitch.com/artists/sub.php?artistId=11

http://www.thinkcontra.com/kehinde-wiley-on-current/