Week 5: Kehinde Wiley

Last weeks ALVC class focused on the Post Modern them "INTERTEXTUALITY", re-read Extract 1 The death of the author on page 44 of your ALVC books and respond to the oil paintings of Kehinde Wiley. How do we make sense of his Kehinde's work? Identify intertextuality in Kehinde's work?

- I think that Wiley's work shows features you would find in Renaissance artworks. These features are the lavish gold frames and the patterns and design Wiley uses in his work. Wiley took photos of black African Americans in Harlem and used them in his works. The characters being depicted in his work almost look like they are trying to be portrayed as being some what linked to royalty and wealth. His works are always full on and consist of many colours and patterns and it all comes together as one work giving it that feel of old style painting.

Kehinde's work relates to this weeks Post Modern theme "PLURALISM" re-read page 50 and discuss how the work relates to this theme?

- Pluralism is visible in Wiley's work through the use of different ethnicities and cultures shown in his work. Classes of people are also shown by making the characters in his works look wealthy and lavish. By using a black man in a Renaissance style work leaves the audience thinking because during the Renaissance we would never see any coloured people which results in racism. I think its good how Wiley has put the past behind him and included these people, it also gives his work a very unique look to it and has worked well for him.