Kehinde Wiley and the Centering of Black Individuals in Fine Art

By Marlene Schaffer

When studying the artistic world–especially the world of celebrated art classics–an observer cannot help but make an immediate observation: it's very White. Not only are the faces given the spotlight in the works White, but the artists behind the works are, more often than not, also White. This in turn, leaves people of color to be the other, the background, or, in some cases, the antagonist in works of art. While some would like to believe that this issue has no effect on the world, it, in fact, further encourages the idea that the White-dominated view is the correct way to show and practice art. This topic has been studied for years by a number of academics, including Nicholas Mirzoeff, a Professor at NYU Steinhardt who aptly calls it “White sight” and argues that it further contributes to individuals “deploy[ing] such stereotypes as part of [their] projection of…reality.”^[1] Luckily, through various social and political movements, this issue has slowly started to be challenged in the art world. One of these challengers is Kehinde Wiley, an African American artist known for his portraiture depicting African Americans in the style of famous classics. With his work being included in over 50 installations worldwide^[2] and having been seen by millions of viewers, we can examine how Kehinde Wiley uses his art to combat African American stereotypes through his careful re-use of iconography and symbolism found in popular portraiture.

When selecting works by Wiley that fit this idea, there were many options to choose from. Wiley uses both iconography and symbolism in almost every piece in his oeuvre, with some being entirely based on their reference to other famous works. To capture as many of the ways that this is done as possible within the restraints of this paper, the following three works were chosen based on how they each fit the topic in their own unique ways. The first work “Judith and Holofernes”(2012) uses iconography–familiar imagery–to apply previously understood meaning to the new subject, while the second, “Anthony of Padua” (2013), uses the symbolism behind the name of a saint to imply to the audience certain characteristics about the subject. The third work, “Houdon Paul-Louis” (2011), while different in medium than the previous two pieces, still uses a well-known style of bust sculpture to add another level of depth to the work overall. By using the tool of textual analysis to see not only what is explicitly shown in the art, but also what is implied through the deliberate use of various colors, poses, and references, we as the audience can see that Kehinde Wiley intends for the works to subvert the stereotypes African Americans face and give new life to his subjects.

“Judith and Holofernes” (2012) is an oil on canvas, standing at an impressive 10 feet tall, that immediately demands the attention of any room it's displayed in. The subject–an African American woman–stands barefoot in the middle of the canvas. She wears a floor-length navy gown, accented by a thick brown leather belt with a gold chain detail. The woman's hair sits high on her head in a bun, giving her even more height, and her face is decorated with vibrant makeup that draws the viewer's eyes to her strong expression. She holds the decapitated head of a White woman in her left hand and the hilt of a gold sword in her right. The background is made up of brightly colored flowers that wind over the canvas on emerald vines. Many possible emotions could be gathered by the audience when viewing this piece, but the one that jumps out the most is a feeling of power. Wiley’s use of bright colors, like the royal blue of her dress and the vibrant oranges and yellows of the flowers in the background, demands the viewer's attention and does not let it go. The woman's bold stance and stern expression also let the audience know that she knows what she is doing and feels no need to back down or apologize. The original work being referenced, “Judith Slaying Holofernes” by Artemisia Gentileschi, has long been a symbol of female power and agency that people with even the most minor background in art history would be able to recognize. By applying these already existing feelings of strength and resistance to his African American subject, Wiley is able to remove any immediate assumption of weakness or subservience that, because of negative stereotypes, might exist in the audience, while still maintaining the beauty and grace the subject deserves to have as a woman. In his own words, Wiley states that the series of artworks that this painting belongs to was created to “reconcile the presence of black female stereotypes that surrounds their presence and/or absence in art history”, proving that the works overall intention is to challenge and question the assumptions on how African American women should be depicted in art.^[3]

The next work, “Anthony of Padua” (2013), is also an oil on canvas that stands a towering 6 feet tall. The work's subject matter is a young African American man who wears an army green combat jacket with brighter green track pants. The jacket bears patches that appear to be tied to various political or social movements, giving the audience a sense of his view and personality. The subject wears two pieces of jewelry, a silver octopus necklace and a bronze ring on his right pinky finger and holds two objects in his hands: a baton of some sort and a thin hardback book. His overall body language is serene and light, with his arms artfully posed, perhaps alluding to the saint the work is named after. His face, though tilted slightly up so that he looks down at the viewer, doesn’t appear condescending or haughty, but as if he is looking up towards the light or maybe even God, contemplating what he sees. The bright and calm feeling that this piece gives off is only doubled by the vibrant orange background covered in flowers similar to those in “Judith and Holofernes”. The greens, blues, and pinks of the flowers help connect the background to the subject and overall add more visual interest to the artwork. This subject is given an additional layer of meaning, but through his name rather than a visual cue. “Anthony of Padua” was a Franciscan preacher born in 1195, who spent most of his life in northern Italy and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1232. He is most typically known as the patron saint of lost and stolen articles, and can be seen depicted holding the child Jesus, a lily, or–like the subject in Wiley’s work–a book.^[4] We can assume that the name is intended to be placed upon the subject and, ergo, give them the aforementioned attributes of holiness. Author and activist bell hooks states that art should be “inherently challenging to those institutionalized systems of domination (imperialism, racism, sexism, class elitism, etc.) that seek co limit, coopt, exploit, or shut down possibilities for individual creative self-actualization”--a practice that can be seen in Wiley’s choices within the work.^[5] The young man, through Wiley’s assigning of a culturally significant name, as well as placing him in an artwork meant to honor its subject, is brought into a position that African Americans are not often seen in, and as a result is separated from the typical negative or demeaning roles often forced onto African Americans in popular portraiture.

The last work, a sculpture rather than a painting like the previous pieces, is titled “Houdon Paul-Louis” (2011). The statue is a warm-toned bronze bust, depicting a young African American man from mid-chest up. The shape follows that of classical marble and stone works of the same type, with the bust base of dark gray speckled granite adding even more of the traditional and regal feel. The subject wears only a zip-up hoodie, with the hood's texture implying a plush interior lining. He is young and clean-shaven and has an almost stern look about him. His strong jaw–tilted slightly upward–and pursed lips add to this serious look, but his eyes are what truly clue the audience into his feelings. When facing the work straight on, it is difficult to tell because of the angle of the head, but when viewed from the side, his eyes and eyebrows are relaxed, giving him a peaceful resting expression. What first appears to be a hard or cold subject, when further examined from a different angle, turns into a tranquil and idyllic likeness of a young man. Wiley's use of angles adds additional interest and meaning to the work's already socially contemporary choice of subject. He has also given extra depth to the work by using the same classical shape and style as many other bust sculptures of famous individuals, making the audience automatically assume that the subject is also someone of significance. Stereotypes at their root are meant to “to make racism, sexism, poverty, and other forms of social injustice appear to be natural, normal, and inevitable parts of everyday life”, and because of this it could be argued that Wiley’s choice was made with the intention of asking the viewer “Why is this sight atypical to you?”^[6] Leading them down this line of thinking will eventually cause them to reach the question that seems to inspire Kehinde Wiley’s art at its root: “Why aren’t African Americans given the same opportunities to appear in these spaces as their White counterparts, and how can we work as a community to change this?”

African American stereotypes have been around for centuries and have damaged countless lives by preventing individuals from being judged as who they are, rather than what they are wrongly assumed to be. Stereotypes have permeated a number of spheres, ranging from media to medicine, causing the issue of “White sight” to further affect the world. Artist Kehinde Wiley uses his works to combat these stereotypes and give African Americans a place to shine in the spotlight they were previously not allowed. We, as the audience, can see how Wiley takes advantage of previously established themes and iconography from well-known classics in portraiture and applies them to his subject. Through the use of tools like observation and textual analysis, the subject is released from any stereotypes present in the outside world and allows them to exist just as any other artistic subject would. It is artists like Kehinde Wiley that continue the push for not only the inclusion of African Americans in Fine Arts spaces, but most importantly, ask their audience to question their very understanding of what–or whom–a work of art should look like.

^[1] Jade McClain, “The Oppressive Impact of White Sight,” NYU News, April 24, 2023, https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2023/april/the-oppressive-impact-of-white-sight.html.

^[2] “Kehinde Wiley Studio KW Studio,” Kehinde Wiley Studio, Accessed November 27, 2023, https://www.kehindewiley.com/about/.

^[3] Wiley Studio, “Kehind Wiley.”

^[4] St. Anthony Shrine, “Who Is St. Anthony of Padua?,” Accessed November 27, 2023, http://www.stanthony.org/who-st-anthony/.

^[5] bell hooks, Art on My Mind: Visual Politics (New Press, 1995), 138.

^[6] Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (Routledge, 2000), 69.