black light by Kehinde Wiley.

"In Black Light, his first monograph, Wiley’s larger-than-life figures disturb and interrupt tropes of portrait painting, often blurring the boundaries between traditional and contemporary modes of representation and the critical portrayal of masculinity and physicality as it pertains to the view of black and brown young men. The models are dressed in their everyday clothing, most of which is based on far-reaching Western ideals of style, and are asked to assume poses found in paintings or sculptures representative of the history of their surroundings. This juxtaposition of the “old” inherited by the “new”—who often have no visual inheritance of which to speak—immediately provides a discourse that is at once visceral and cerebral in scope."

via powerhouse books; read more here.

i blogged about Kehinde before, when he had his opening for DOWN at Deitch Studios in nyc, showcasing all of his artwork for soho to see. i definitely have to support his book. hes definitely doing his thing. dont be afraid to check out art, its beautiful, in all its entities. and its actually cool, too. oh heaven forbid, we dont do anything non-cool. yea whatever. im not about that. im breaking the norm and bringing art back. follow me!

photo cred : design scene

until next time, peace <3.