Danny Giles.

I found this artist and his work particularly interesting. He seemed to use his work to communicate historical and political implications that he has made, along with ones that touch on identity, individualism, and specifically the concept of “blackness” and “whiteness.” His pieces range from photography, abstract painting, sculptures, videos, etc. While he has created and promoted many different forms of art, I was strongly drawn to a few of his works.

What attracted me to this artist?

Giles had created a few different pieces, as shown above, that used various mediums to convey, what I thought, as a core message. Each of them are monochromatic, consisting of black and white. These two shades that live on opposite sides of the color spectrum and have proven to be very eye-catching together, as both are highly contrasting. But I believe there’s more to them than just their aesthetic aspects. In a couple videos that I’ve watched of the artist, he talks about the themes of identity and being “seen” versus “not seen” that has been embedded into many of his creations/visuals. Keeping that in mind, I began to see the “blackness” and “whiteness” as a broader, more encompassing idea. In my personal opinion, his expression seemed more racialized focused my attention most on the top image on the far left, the white ceramic mask that had been doused in black paint and charcoal. After watching one of Gile’s speeches, I was informed that it had been a mask of Obama. My immediate thoughts went to the dual identity that he himself had. A man who was born of a black father and brought up by his white mother. But according to the media and the way he’s socially known, he’s considered a black man. The first black president of the United States, a title that he still carries to this day. The whiteness of the masked covered by the black charcoal to me felt as though both identities were existent, but only one was chosen to pin on to his person.
It was almost as if Giles had been trying to show a societal binary that has been established. One is labeled as an identity based on how they’re perceived by others. No one could have multiple identities rather the concept itself is very “black” or “white,” “this” or “that.” I think there’s also subtle traces of colonialism as the mask is on a barrel lid and the other art pieces are on white backgrounds. It’s almost singling out the “blackness” amidst the “whiteness.”

Created by Edgar Arceneaux

Library of Black Lies: Arceneaux’s piece was something I had never experienced within the realm of art before. Walking into it, I suddenly found myself in a small labyrinth. The mirrors, creating the illusion of a broader space, beckoned me inside. Light was scattered across the room from a single light source. But the array of various books had caught my eye the most. There were shelves filled with leather-bound, plastic-wrapped, and crystalized covers. Many of them differed in genre, size, condition, etc. Seeing the floor plan, I began to think about what it all signified.

My interpretation: After observing the exhibit, I began to wonder the meaning behind what I had seen. The only I had known beforehand, of the piece, was it had black history embedded into its creation. It connected to strong African American figureheads many of us are aware of: Oprah, MLK Jr., Bill Cosby, etc. I also knew that the sugar crystals held an arbitrary meaning of time. The crystals were attributed to either the “freezing” of time, or a period of growth. Now, one could interpret the piece as almost a metaphoric expression. The person(s) who go inside are coming in and almost seeking knowledge. They are guided into the “heart” of the room or the place in which to reflect and pursue an understanding of their own self. The book, in this case, are representative of gaining this wisdom while the spiraling nature of architecture refers to one’s life journey. While this idea did make sense, I began to expand on it. Looking at the way the library was built and specifically the novels and how they were placed, I felt that there was still a progression occurring. But rather than it being limited to an individual’s life, I saw it as more of an overall movement throughout history to present day and on: a linear timeline.

Timeline: I came to this conclusion after taking a closer look at the books. What marked the “beginning,” for me was the leather bound journals (the first set of books placed near the entrance). Thinking more into the relationship between black history and the exhibit, I though about slavery. They looked as though they belonged in that era. As you move towards the center: bibles and books that refer to the “end” of slavery and segregation are right beside them. Seeing that they were all untouched, I interpreted this as the cut off point between the past and the present. Those events are what most of us perceive as pieces of the past. Moving toward the covers with sugar crystals, It was as though some of the titles were encapsulated into the bond of time. An instance of this was a book written by Bill Cosby. He used to be one of America’s biggest role models, but due to his sexual allegations, his image was tarnished. His actions have branded him for life, which fits this “frozen in time” theory. But, sugar crystals also refer to development. Near the end of the shelves, I saw encyclopedias and dictionaries in the same state. However, this could be seen as the “present to future” section seeing that language and its use is constantly changing with the continuation of time. So in some ways, Arceneaux’s work could be seen as a timeline with special attention to certain occurrences.

Books for my own timeline (chronological order):
Note: I wanted this timeline to still connect to black history, so I related it to my growth of my knowledge on the subject matter.

1. Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom (By Catherine Clinton) 
2. – One of the books I had read on the subject of slavery when I was younger. This book gave me more of an understanding  of that dark part of history. Some of my earliest memories on this matter revolved around her being a prominent figure within the push against this socio-cultural norm of the time. [Past]
3. The Color of Law (Richard Rothstein)- This gave me more insight into segregation and the ways in which the government had handled these social issues with a sense of “whiteness”. [Past into Present]
4. Green Mile (Stephen King)– Though this is a fictional novel, it touched on the controversy linked to incarceration and marginalization of African Americans. This was one of the books I considered to be “frozen in time” seeing as though the criminal justice system is still broken but there’s a call for action by the people. [Past/Present]
5. Becoming (Michelle Obama)– I saw the Obamas as a milestone within the black community. I see them as pivotal part of American history: an open door for more change. [Present to Future]