What struck you as creative?
The fact that Wiley was able to convey such a powerful statement on race and the vast range of emotions just through a looped video of men smiling is in and of itself such a creative and out of the box idea. Understanding the point of the film really allows the viewer to imagine/see how difficult it is to keep a smile on your face even though holding a smile is painful. The camera work (or lack thereof) was also intriguing. Keeping the camera solely focused on the men as they began with an ernest smile, and slowly fades into wincing and pain lets the audience focus in on the men's faces and the characteristics that each possesses understanding that this is such a universal issue of the way that racism and the history of racial profiling in media has effected an entire people.
I found the way the piece was arranged and edited also creative. Each man in his own corner reminded me a little of The Brady Bunch, but in a muuuuuch more serious tone. But that connection I think also plays into what the artist was trying to get at. Looking at the exhibition, it conveys a disarming tone where you see guys smiling. However, it's only after you read the explanation of the piece that you realize the serious tone. One of the best ways to make an impact on people is to first get them to let their guard down, and then hit them with a powerful message. This work did exactly that.
How do you think the author came up with the idea?
It seems to me that Kehinde Wiley created this piece from personal experience. He being an African American artist surely has come across examples of racism in art from generations past. This specific example is, as stated before, a powerful way to take the guard's down of those seeing it as something which is entertaining or funny. This take is much like the initial impressions that audiences of the past had when seeing black face or minstrel shows. However when we look at those displays of racism now we are appalled after realizing what is going on. This relates to "Smile" when we realize the issues that African Americans and other minority races have endured the audience begins to understand the impact that it has on us today. I believe that Wiley had this in mind when creating the installation; something to disarm and impact.
I agree it was definitely unnerving. Even something as great as a smile can be turned to something absurd when it's forced like that.
ReplyDeleteTo respond to the longest post of the class (nice one Jordan).
ReplyDeleteIt's cool how you pointed out that it was four images displayed all at the same time. He could have done it with one man at a time, making it four times longer (maybe too much). But thinking about the layout, makes me think about how looking at it we were able to compare each face as they strained to smile.
The comment you made about how Wiley was so successful at disarming the audience and then impacting them with the actual meaning of the piece, was something I had not thought about and agree with you completely. I think that "disarming" the audience can be one of the most useful tools when a point needs to be made, especially on such difficult topics as racism.
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