Week 4- 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 1 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. 

"Intertextuality, the condition of any whatsoever, cannot, of course, be reduced to a problem of sources of influences; the intertext is a general field of formulae whose origin can scarcely ever be located; of unconscious or automatic quotations, given quotation marks" (Barthes,1981). 

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.

Wiley's works are presented very colourful and also decoratively. To reflect his work to intertextuality, he has used the African culture and the American hip-hop culture. In the work above he's trying to present how the African culture can give a good mix to the Western culture, also it can be seen how he put the modern style and the Renaissance together to give a reflection of the nowadays. 

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):

To explain the pluralism he has worked with the idea of using the men in an African setting of background into his work. His works gives an combination of the Renaissance and the contemporary culture, black Americans with their hip hop.

He also puts as the Black/Brown to the main figure to his paintings which gives an obvious where and who's he's standing for. In my opinion Wiley is reflecting the past and the present because of how in the past the black/brown were divided to the whites because of how un wealthy they were and how the White have always been the wealthy upper class people. But through his painting it lets the viewers know how in nowadays its alot different to the past, it's not the White that is more stronger than any other cultures such as the Africans. Also this painting personally showed me how everyone can be mixed in different cultures. 

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

Most of Wiley's works can be seen very successfully because of how he has presented the peace in cultures but in somewhat it can be questioned around social/cultural hierarchies,globalization, etc because of the way he's presented the black men in to a portrait with traditionally decorated background, that was when he pushed himself over the limit and challenged himself to a different stage, which visually attracted the viewers.

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

In my opinion, in most of Wiley's works it might have gave an impact to some people that is still struggling of racism, and I mostly agree with his works of how he's put two different cultures into his works and made them meaningful to the link between the past and the present. 

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

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

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

http://www.skny.com/artists/kehinde-wiley/

http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/paintings.html

http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/paintings.html