Kehinde Wiley: Upending Authority Through Art With Economy of Grace - Essay Sample

Introduction

Kehinde Wiley's paintings are an imitation of renascence drawings and a response to princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1839) by Sir Edwin Landseer and The Music Lesson (1662) by Johannes Vermeer. The substitution of the noblemen and women in the painting with African-American descent enables him to undermine the authority of the power relation implanted in the historical traditions of the arts. Kehinde's art in his "Economy of Grace" exhibit takes the objectification of the previous pictures to a superlative level by exaggerating their features (McDaniel 32). As a result, the art presents an invention of objectification, which portrays Wiley's refusal to glorify the idea of the woman fitting in the given context or happy. Even though the painting aims at taking a conventional position concerning the objectification of women, some critics perceive them as provocative.

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Some critics perceive the new paintings as similar to Wiley's male paintings. As the author indicates, one critic cited that "the painting intends to ignite emotions and cause incitement and re-live the same responses again" (McDaniel 35). However, this not true as much of Wiley's work involves moving identities into similar contexts, and even though both the male and female portraits may have some similarities, they do not yield the same result. Wiley capitalizes on the black stereotypes in classical settings and hip-hop culture. He portrays the male portraits as urban with casual clothes while Riccardo Tisci, creative director of the clothing brand, Givenchy, portrays the women in elegant designs. Despite the slight difference, the male exploits may get interpreted as being portrayed as exploited somewhere, while for the women paintings, they highlight the objectification of women. However, the interpretations may differ depending on one's understanding and perception (McDaniel 35).

Unlike in Landseer and Vermeer paintings, Kehinde drifts in his art and includes the audience in experiencing the objectivity. His choice of style captures the attention of the viewer and makes them feel they are a part of it, which helps communicate the message more accessible. As Trista Thomson puts it, "the escalating beauty in a limited pictorial space signifies the trapped situation the woman faces (McDaniel 33). The viewer has the opportunity to stare and contemplate on the woman's beauty as well as share the discomfort. The woman is downgraded to the status of an object to get viewed by other people while herself; all she has to pleasure her eyes on is a high wall with vegetation.

Another contrasting feature visible is in the choice of colors for the woman and the background. In both Landseer's princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and The Music Lesson, the ambiance surrounding the woman in the painting is affluent, which immediately informs the viewer, the woman comes from a wealthy background. However, in Wiley's portrait, there is a sharp contrast between the woman and the surroundings. It seems like she got both coerced and restricted into playing the role. The evidence is in the variation in her body with the setting of the painting. As a result, the art appears staged or an unrealistic fantasy of the viewer. The author indicates that the use of this feature in the picture helps outline the unnatural power relations.

The exaggeration of the scale of the painting in comparison to the original paintings also helps in objectifying his subject while at the same time outlining the defects related to objectification terms. Unlike the previous pictures, which were smaller, Kehinde's painting is intimidating to the viewer due to its big size. Therefore, it inhibits the objectification of the woman even though that is what the perspective of the painting demands. In addition, though Wiley objectifies women in the paintings, he outlines the terms and process of establishing objectification. For example, the art, princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (2012) epitomizes Wiley's involvement with the objectification scheme together with the male gaze. An analysis of the painting clearly shows the invention of objectification by the painter. By exaggerating the power relations, it puts in the open the notion of objectifying women by portraying them as beautiful objects in portraits.

The author's arguments and explanations of the paintings are structured well; indicating a properly conducted research and background information regarding the subject from other scholarly articles. For instance, while explaining the artistic reflections of the painting, the author uses "the music lesson" by Johannes Vermeers to emphasize his point (McDaniel 31). The limited use of discipline jargon and the provision of clear examples appeal to the audience and makes it easy to understand. There are no gaps in the arguments hence, giving it a natural flow with the use of demonstrative evidence by the author to provide clarifications that make the essay productive and suitable for study.

Conclusion

In conclusion, even though the painting aims at taking a current position concerning the objectification of women, some critics perceive them as provocative. The art provides the viewer with an opportunity to interpret according to their perspective concerning the objectification of women. However, the set-up of the painting to suit the painter's desire aims at helping the viewer understand the degrading of the status of women as objects of beauty.

Work Cited

McDaniel, Byrd. "An Aesthetic of Objectification Kehinde Wiley's Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha." Pennsylvania Literary Journal, 2013, pp. 29-36., Accessed 30 Apr 2020.