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Figuring History: Robert Colescott, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas

Figuring History: Robert Colescott, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas
Library Shelf Location 17.FIGU
Publication Date 2018
Description

Contemporary artists Robert Colescott (1925-2009), Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955), and Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971) are distinguished by their attention to a history of representation, which they re-visit and revise to reflect on individual and collective Black experience. Equally engaged with social and political histories, and the history of art, Colescott, Marshall, and Thomas have created works that at times poignantly and satirically critique dominant narratives and posit alternatives. By considering these artists together, this thought-provoking book expands our understanding of contemporary history painting, a genre first defined during the 17th century and known for didactic paintings that often depicted Biblical or mythological subjects, and expressed the tastes and narratives of a ruling class. Colescott, Marshall, and Thomas marry appreciation of these traditional forms of representation to a deep understanding of contemporary American culture to create insightful works that disrupt historic narratives and read canonic art history against the grain.

ISBN 9780300233896
Quantity 1
Pages 96p; 31.1 x 1.3 x 24.1 cm
Author Jacqueline Francis
Format Hardback
Publisher Seattle Art Museum
Related Artists Robert Colescott, Mickalene Thomas, Kerry James Marshall
Category Group Exhibition/Multiple Artists
Keywords Contemporary History, African-American History
Language English

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