Week 4 - Kehinde Wiley and inter-textuality

Week 4 - Kehinde Wiley and 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. 

Intertexuality is simply everything that we understand comes from a whole range of texts that have become well known to us in the past  

"The concept of intertexuality reminds us that each text exists in relation to others" (2003) - Daniel Chandler

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.

The painting by Wiley uses the intertexuality definition and it is clear in the paintings above. From what the average human knows about the culture of African Americans, the painting is very different. We use our past  knowledge and figure out that the African man has been placed in an area that is very different to what we would usually expect.

3. Wiley's work relates to next weeks Postmodern theme "PLURALISM" . Read page 51 and discuss how the work relates to this theme.

Wiley has painted something that we have all seen before sometime in the past. The paintings look asthough they are about important, wealthy white people, but instead have been painted with African Americans instead. This emphasizes the idea of Postmodern idea of Pluralism because the work is questioning the past on other cultures and the white upper class. It is asthough is it questioning if the white upper class is any better than other cultures such as African Americans.

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

Wiley's work raises questions around social/cultural hierarchies, colonization, globalization, stereotypes and politics which govern a western worldview because there is so many people that may say this work is "wrong" because they are so used to the simple modern portrait painting. Since we live in a postmodern society we can clearly see that Wiley has put two things together that don't belong. The black man in the image would be stereotyped as poor and violent . For him to be placed in this setting it makes him seem completely opposite and is offensive in some cases.

5. Add some reflective comments of your own, which may add more information that

you have read during your research.

I like the idea of putting the African American in a high class setting.  I like how it raises questions about todays generation and how we see the world.

extract 1 the death of the author page 44 alvc book

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem09.html

http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0278.html

http://www.kehindewiley.com/an_Economy_of_grace/Dacia_Carter.html

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

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