Kehinde Wiley

Despite growing up in an impoverished household in Los Angeles, with a single mother of six, Wiley
recognized his talent for art at a very young age. His mother encouraged this talent and started him off
in an extensive study of the field at the age of 11, attending after-school art classes with his twin
brother. This fueled his love for art, as he went on to study at Los Angeles County High School for the
Arts, the San Francisco Art Institute, Yale University School of Art, and even a study abroad
opportunity in Russia. During this time, he grew his knowledge of the trade, while also realizing that
his work should be personal and pleasing to him, as the artist, and not just to his professors. He took
this knowledge with him as, out of school, he began making portraits based off mug shots. Studying the
intents and personal agendas created by portraiture, he began to experiment with the way that black and
brown people are viewed by society, eventually shifting his imagery from mug shot photos to people he
finds in the streets (“street casting”). These images would then transform into depictions of black and
brown people in stances of power, in the style of the Old Masters and renaissance portraiture.
"Art is about communicating power…What I choose to do is take people who happen to look like
me, black and brown, people all over the world increasingly, and allowing them to occupy that field of power."—Kehinde
Wiley

Critical Study: By rendering black people in the same patterns and

postures as the overtly white population of classical European paintings, Wiley
makes a striking commentary on the lack of diverse people in power in
history, as well as today. He juxtaposes the clothing and fashion of hip-hop
culture with the intricate designs and patterns used in portraits of the past,
causing the viewer to compare the two, and to question how portraiture is used
to convey a message.
Structural Frame:
 How does this person’s posturing and facial expression impact how
you see him?
 What effect do the patterns and the exterior frame have on the
composition?
 How does the color scheme alter the mood of this painting?
Wiley’s painting on the right appropriates the one on
the left, by Jacques Louis David (1803)
Postmodern Frame:
 Wiley’s figure is dressed according to hip-hop
culture. What stereotypes might be associated
with this clothing, and therefore this person?
How does Wiley counter these ideas in his
Colonel Platoff on His Charger, 2007–8
painting?
 What symbols of power do you recognize in this
piece?
Cultural Frame:
 Who do you think was the audience for David’s
painting? Who is the audience for Wiley’s?
 What does a horse mean in the context of
historical painting? How does that fit into
Wiley’s overall message?
Left: Jacques-Louis David, Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, 1800–1
Right: Kehinde Wiley, Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005

“Wiley calls attention to ideas about authority and historical Vocabulary:

representation, keeping many original elements and making
significant alterations.” –DR. Gayle Clemons
Art Making: Brainstorm what you think people see when they see you. List any
stereotypes or assumptions people make about you. Think about some physical
attributes that might define you, then list some clothing items or materials that
could either emphasize those attributes or change them. Sketch out three examples
of these then pick one outfit to actually piece together and wear. Photograph
yourself wearing this outfit and posing in a way that exaggerates your message.
Glue photograph to Bristol board and use gelli prints, paint, or stencils to
manipulate the background and image. When your composition is finished, write 3-
5 sentences about what this image says about you and how it communicates this.
Appropriation: using borrowed images or objects that
already exist in art and applying them to your own work
Juxtaposition: Pairing two things together in close proximity
to compare them or show their differences
Street Casting: Selecting subjects or models for art by going
out into the street nearby and observing everyday people who
might fit one’s artistic need
Posturing: The way a person holds themselves or stands,
which lends to the way they are seen by others
Mood: The feeling a piece of art gives off, based on its
qualities of color, design, subject matter, or texture
“What my goal is is In 2017, Wiley was selected by President Barack Obama to be the first African
to allow the world to American to create the official presidential portrait, alongside painter Amy Sherald,
see the humanity that who would create the official portrait for First Lady Michelle Obama.
I know personally to
be the truth.”— Subjective Frame:
Kehinde Wiley  How does this piece make you feel?
 Does your recognition of the figure change how you feel about the painting
“I think Wiley’s
compared to others that Wiley has made?
fanciful style ends up
 What do you think Wiley is trying to say about President Obama? How can you
leaving the aftertaste
tell?
of self-awareness
about its own myth-
making.”—Ben Amy Sherald is an African American painter, known for her stylized
Davis renderings of black people, using colorful, vibrant clothing, flat backgrounds, and
grayscale skin tones. Her work is often categorized with Wiley’s due to their
similar expressive styles and her association with the presidential portraits (First
Lady Michelle Obama). She creates portraits that focus on identity based on
Barack Obama, 2018 Kehinde Wiley
social and cultural expectations. Her paintings portray everyday people in
powerful and expressive stances, with intriguing clothing.

“I’m painting the paintings that I want to see in museums…And I’m hopefully
presenting them in a way that’s universal enough that they become representative of something
different than just a black body on a canvas.”—Amy Sherald

Michelle Obama, 2018 Amy Sherald

  How are Sherald’s paintings similar to
Wiley’s?
 How are theyPrecious
What’s different?
inside of him does not care to be
known by the mind in waus that diminish its presence
 Why do you (All think they both work in
American), 2017 Amy Sherald
portraiture?
 Resources:  Who do you think is the audience of
 “Amy Sherald.” 9 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy. Accessed March 15,
Sherald’s 2020. https://www.artsy.net/artist/amy-sherald.
work?
 Anonymous. “National Portrait Gallery Announces Artists Commissioned to Paint Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama.” National Portrait Gallery, October 13, 2017.
 Who is Wiley’s?
https://npg.si.edu/about-us/press-release/national-portrait-gallery-announces-artists-commissioned-paint-portraits.

She was learning to love moments, to love moments for
 Davis, Ben. “Here's the Bad News About Kehinde Wiley's Presidential
themselves, Portrait
2018 Amy of Barack Obama.” artnet News, July 17, 2018. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/barack obama-
Sherald
portrait kehinde-wiley-1222910.
 Dr. Gayle Clemans, "Kehinde Wiley, Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps," in Smarthistory, December 21, 2016, accessed March 15, 2020,
https://smarthistory.org/kehinde-wiley-napoleon leading-the-army-over-the-alps/.
 “Kehinde Wiley Biography, Life & Quotes.” The Art Story. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/wiley-kehinde/life and legacy/.
 “National Museum of Women in the Arts.” Amy Sherald | National Museum of Women in the Arts. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://nmwa.org/explore/artist profiles/amy-sherald.
 Ujiyediin, Nomin. “Kehinde Wiley Reimagines Blackness In A Eurocentric Art World.” KGOU. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://www.kgou.org/post/kehinde-wiley reimagines
blackness eurocentric-art-world
