Oilstick and gesso on panel The text in the work shown here, "I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background..." was adapted from Zora Neale Hurston's essay: How it Feels To Be Colored Me (1928). Description. In the essay, Hurston says slavery has been sixty years in the past. In the essay, Hurston says slavery has … An always-on video channel featuring programming hand selected by Art21, Curated by Art21 staff, with guest contributions from artists, educators, and more, Explore over 700 videos from Art21's television and digital series. What do you think Parker's poem addresses that has changed since then? Ligon's painting focuses specifically on that line: Glenn Ligon, Untitled (I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against a Sharp White Background), 1990. Painted one year after his first solo show, Glenn Ligon's I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against a Sharp White Background is an early example of his text paintings, which incorporate quotes about African American identity from works by black writers. The artist took the phrase from Zora Neale Hurston's 1928 essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," the author's account of leaving the safety of an African American town and confronting racism for the first time. View fullsize. Only when she came in to contact with white people, did the author realize that her identity was not purely crafted by her own desires and perceptions; she connoted something dangerous to those outside of her community. What do you think Parker's poem addresses that hasn't changed since then but is not directly addressed in the essay? Oil, oil stick, gesso, and graphite on wood (206 x 79 cm). Almost as a key to decode Hurston's declaration on the surface of the panel, Ligon includes a quote that explains exactly how white society defined itself in opposition to black society. In the 1960s at the time of this interview, many white people would evade the glance of black people, refusing to confront them as individuals. For this reason, his use of text is closely related to On Kawara's postcards. In this struggle, Ligon shows that black and white identities are quintessentially linked. Quotes by Hurston were the first ones used by Ligon as repeating sentences. All discussions are expected to be from a post-"racism 101" and postcolonial point of view.

Most notably in the early 1960s, Ruscha and Indiana disconnected words from their meaning, turning them in to floating signifiers - artistic objects that could be manipulated for their formal and aesthetic properties. signed and titled 'Glenn Ligon Untitled #1 (second version)' (on the reverse) In an effort to avoid such repressive imagery, Ligon, who began painting abstractly, turned to the texts that past generations of African Americans had written in an effort to make sense of their identity in a white world as source material for his artwork. 30 works in the Whitney’s collection. Ligon explores ways in which identity is constructed in relation to others or to suit the expectations of a specific audience. Jan 30, 2016 - Glenn Ligon [USA] (b 1960) ~ "I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against a Sharp White Background", 1990. Look for the plus icon next to videos throughout the site to add them here.

Unlike these artists, Ligon relies strongly on the meaning of the language that he deploys. Untitled (I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against A Sharp White Background) By using the word "still," Kawara asserts that at any moment one can cease to exist. The text begins with a question directed to James Baldwin, a gay black writer active throughout the civil rights movement: "you've said that your darkness reminds white men of their death." Save videos to watch later, or make a selection to play back-to-back using the autoplay feature. Glenn Ligon, 1960–. Thus black and white identities have been intertwined, as ideas of identity are often based on this negative relationship. Glenn Ligon: AMERICA, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. In many ways, this relationship is very similar to that between white and black Americans described by Baldwin in the 1960s. Art21 is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization; all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Seeming opposites are intrinsically linked - death is the end of life and life is the absence of death. Untitled (I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against a Sharp White Background), 1990. The use of such language is in many ways a claim of existence--a cry that the artist and his people are alive and can find avenues of self-expression not mediated through white bigotry. According to Ligon, his mother supported his artistic development from a … There is an analysis of Ligon's work in the Whitney link. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 199-216). However, unlike Wool, the language that Ligon uses is fiercely personal and linked to the history of his people. We are conscious that race intersects with sex, class, disability, age, and more, and intend this space to be safe(r) for *all* POC. One is negatively related to the other. cat., Glenn Ligon - Some Changes, Ontario, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery Harbourfront centre, p. 124). Press J to jump to the feed. Untitled #1 (Second Version) Ligon's work formally speaks to this as the black text would not be visible without the white ground - identity only becomes legible against the screen of the other. This community was founded by and is actively curated by People of Color. oilstick, gesso and graphite on wood panel Morgan Parker's I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against A Sharp White Background: An Elegy references Glenn Ligon's Untitled (I Do Not Always Feel Colored) (1990) which references Zora Neale Hurston's How It Feels to Be Colored Me (1928) [PDF link]. The title of Morgan Parker's poem is taken directly from paragraph 9 of Hurston's essay: I do not always feel colored. There is a quiz, discussion questions, and an analysis of the Hurston essay in the link. Don't Worry".

Through generations of physical and emotional violence, white society has constructed a vision of what it means to be black and projected this idea on to African Americans. These simple yet disturbing statements are testaments to individual presence in the world and also highlight the interconnectivity of life and death. In this relationship that has been parasitic for so much of Western history, the state of affairs has changed drastically, so that perhaps this relationship can become increasingly symbiotic overtime. Starting in the sixties, Kawara sent postcards with messages such as "I am still alive" and "I am not going to commit suicide. Even now I often achieve the unconscious Zora of Eatonville before the Hegira. If you move out of your place everything is changed. Untitled (I Am Somebody), 1991. Cookies help us deliver our Services. "Language could address the demolition of black masculinity prevalent within American culture, allowing the black body to be disentangled from the graphic "scenes of subjection" in which it is continually emplotted," (H. Copeland, "Untitled (Jackpot)", exh. Untitled (I Do Not Always Feel Colored), 1990. Glenn Ligon’s “Untitled (Study for I Feel Most Colored)” demonstrates the power of combining text and image. Without the African American foil, white identity would cease to exist, in essence, would die. Of course, the use of text in painting pre-dates Ligon. 1960) As a gay black man, Ligon strives to find a way to express his individual identity in a way that does not rely on the implicitly racist visual and literary culture of white America. If I'm not what that white man thinks I am, then he has to find out what he is," (quoted in C. Bigsby, ed., The Black American Writer, Deland, 1969, pp. While Wool culls language from the streets, cinema, and other avenues of popular culture, Ligon uses the very publications that are the heart of African American self-expression. Glenn Ligon was born into a black working-class family in the Bronx, New York in 1960. I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background. To build a positive identity in opposition to black society, white America had created a visual cannon made up primarily of conquered, subdued black masculinity. View fullsize. Further context of the Hurston quote, from, How it Feels to Be Colored Me, I do not always feel colored. View fullsize. A nonprofit organization, Art21’s mission is to inspire a more creative world through the works and words of contemporary artists. Like a haunting mantra, the words "I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against a Sharp White Background" repeat again and again, smearing into abstract gestures on the pristine white panel. In thick black letters against a white background, Ligon’s message — “I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background” — takes on new dimensions. The identity of the self is always predicated to a certain degree on the society that one exists in. According to Baldwin, this was because: "The white man knew he would not like to be me. View fullsize. There is an analysis of Ligon's work in the Whitney link. | #art #painting #drawing #conceptual_art #print Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1994. The very statement of being alive is also a testament to the idea that death is imminent.
For this reason, his use of text is more similar to the works of Christopher Wool and On Kawara. There is a quiz, discussion questions, and an analysis of the Hurston essay in the link. Ligon's work, like Kawara's postcards, is a complex statement on what it means to have an individual presence in the world. A 360-view of our upcoming Milan auction, showcasing important and exciting works by some of the most renowned pre- and post-war artists and designers, Peter Doig’s Boiler House makes top price; world records are set for Marina Abramović and Daniel Richter; evening sale series tops £90 million, Our updated guide takes you through the shows that have been extended and postponed this year, from Christo in Paris to Artemisia Gentileschi in London, In tandem with an online sale, Trespassing, we take a look at how works by pioneers such as Haring, Stik and KAWS are finding their way into the home, Why coloured gems — like those on these diamond earrings and a Boghossian double rivière, both offered in Hong Kong — have an allure all of their own, Alexandra Tolstoy on items from the Chelsea home she created with Colefax & Fowler — now on sale at Christie’s Online, If I Live I'll See You Tuesday: Contemporary Art Auction. (203.2 x 76.2 cm.) Reddit's anti-racism community, a safe(r) space for People of Color and their supporters. Today, the essay has been ninety-one years in the past. Others will use the identities of the other to bolster their own idea of themselves. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Painted in 1990. 80 x 30 in. He attended a private school on scholarship and his mother enrolled him in drawing and pottery classes.


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