The Aesthete – Black Lives Matter
Art
In the aftermath of the recent killing of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, 148 artists showed work at the alternative art space Smack Mellon in a show entitled Respond. The show included a diverse group of artists who contributed a range of work that served to survey the national reaction to the black deaths that have incited the growing Black Lives Matter Movement.
Respond, in raising questions about the ongoing failure of the nation to protect its black citizens, also posed a question: Should black artists specifically respond to the historic, recent, and continued killing of innocent black men and women in this country?
We asked nine contemporary black artists to continue the dialogue that Respond started and to answer the following question: Do you think black artists should respond to the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter Movement?
Brandon Coley Cox, Untitled, 2014
Brandon Coley Cox
I found it very difficult to create anything at all after the nearly simultaneous indecisions happened around the murders of Eric Garner and Michael Brown I want[ed] to act, and not to react, but to proact, but I wasnt sure how.
So I decided to speak to Garner and Brown. The first paintings I made were dedicatory and, in that, free of any concern of critical gazing. This act of dedication caused me to understand how I wanted to communicate to audiences at large through my creations. I began to understand that it was important to me to create a densely black aesthetic for myself, however I might conceive of it. Following a path of black self-reflexivity was more important than not. I took out all of the white. And other colors. They had been causing too many problems.
I reconsidered everything in my work with one key element in mind: that blackness matters. I now use that as a groundwork to begin creating my work instead of focusing on the distractions. I am more interesting than the distractions. I am more necessary than the distractions. My response to the Black Lives Matters movement was personal celebration and investigation all black everything!
Hank Willis Thomas, Two Little Prisoners, 2014, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Hank Willis Thomas
I dont believe anyone should do anything they dont want to do, unless they feel they must. I dont believe that having a specific hue of skin should obligate or validate what they make. I believe that the more voices that feel compelled to speak out against injustice, the better. The fact of the matter is that broad injustice takes place everyday and all the time. The question for me is, How do we find new and innovative ways to respond and call out when we are oversaturated with image, music, text designed to distract and nullify us? Im still in search of answers.
Titus Kaphar, 1968/2014, 2014, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Titus Kaphar
I think that the problems of this world will be a natural outgrowth of some artists practice and the celestial and ineffable will be the focus of others. Attempting to create mandates for the production of art in and of itself can be the death nail to creativity.
Jordan Casteel, Galen, 2014
Jordan Casteel
Whether black artists should or should not respond to the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement feels irrelevant. Black artists ARE responding. Each of us, through our various forms of expression, are contributing to an expanded notion of what it means it be black in America today. The basis of the movement is to draw attention to the value we place on life more specifically, black life. We can scrutinize societys value system by making a body human that has historically been seen as less than. It is the diversity of the Black artists voice that helps to emphasize our worth.
For me, as an artist who has experienced the world as a heterosexual cis black woman, it has felt important to share the story of my relationship(s) to black men/masculinity as a daughter, sister, lover, friend, and family member. I hope that through my personal lens, I can draw a viewer into an intimate experience they might not otherwise encounter.My portraits engage a viewer through observation of color, texture, environment, and gesture.
To some, my work may be speaking directly to the Black Lives Matter movement through its emphasis on humanizing black bodies, however, I think the way black artists continue to give to the Black Lives Matter movement is by sharing their individual voices in order to bring power and understanding to a united goal no one person is the same or should be judged as such.
A still from the film #Blackmendream, Shikeith, 2014
Shikeith
I recently was shared rare audio from a 1975 speech from Toni Morrison. During the speech, she states Accurate artistry proves racism is a public mark of ignorance, but a fraud The core of the Black Lives Matter movement is an expedition to extract the weeds of ignorance planted into the underpinning of America.
I realize, like many others, the humanity ascribed to Blackness has historically been determined through unenlightened, Manichean precepts that viewed Blackness as cursed. Addressing this neglect saw the Black populous of artists create written and visual art that speaks to and asserts a reality that blackness and humanity are not antithetical a Black being realized on their own terms. My socially engaged, art film #Blackmendream, uses new forms of virtual communication to illustrate this historic response.
It is critical that I as an artist continue to respond to the historic tropes that follow me, just as they followed Trayvon Martin to his untimely death. As a collective, I encourage artists of all backgrounds to continue picking at the weeds of ignorance, and planting the flowers of truth.
Rashaad Newsome
I think all humans should respond to the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. Given the fact that the dehumanization of black people permeates our society, I cant see how anyone could idly stand by. I think there are several ways that people can participate. Im not [preaching] on how you should do it but find a way that works for you and like Nike Just do it. Personally as an artist, a human and a black man, I felt an immense responsibility to say something.
Cameron Welch, Patchwork, 2014; Cameron Welch, Gaze, 2014
Cameron Welch
My initial instinct is to respond with a resounding, of course! But where does that sit in terms of how these objects are seen / where they end up? In my own practice, Ive responded to these events in terms of how the work is constructed. Aspects of the paintings that were once highly considered and manicured are now distressed and aggressive. Marks are made with footprints and detritus materials and shapes are violently sewn binding them against their will. Im angry about whats happened, I always will be. I feel that attacking parts of my practice allows for that to show in manners that cant be expressed vocally.
Clifford Owens, Performance Score: Rico Gatson, Five Minutes, performed on January 31, 2015 at Smack Mellon, photograph by Matthew McNulty
Clifford Owens
It seems to me that the question should black American artists respond to black lives matter is a matter of ones own sense of social responsibility. Black Lives Matter was not a movement, it was a moment that has already passed. American black artists are vested in the black lives matters movement as an image, and its a powerful image, a strong representation of blackness.
Im deeply suspicious of and somewhat cynical about the function of art in the black lives movement. Im suspicious about what motivates some black American artists to appropriate representations of the black lives movement. Im cynical that the image of the black lives movement is a merely a signifier that has lost its signified.
Sanford Biggers, Everyday a Sunset Dies (LKG), 2014
Sanford Biggers
No, not necessarily, but there are artists that have something to say about these events and they should. And therein lies the conundrum. To move beyond strictly race-focused conversations and allow for black artists to engage in more expansive dialogues around their work and practice is key.
In 2015, for us to still need to address the issues and importance of black lives in the first place, and to have to assert our very existence within American culture, is extremely problematic and actually quite shameful.
Read more here:
The Aesthete - Black Lives Matter
- Pepper-balls vs. tear gas: How 2020's Black Lives Matter protest in Spokane compares to the immigration demonstration of 2025 - The Spokesman-Review - June 18th, 2025 [June 18th, 2025]
- Now and then: How Trump's response to LA riots has changed from 2020 Black Lives Matter and Antifa - Fox News - June 12th, 2025 [June 12th, 2025]
- Community comes together to repaint Black Lives Matter mural - The Pajaronian - June 12th, 2025 [June 12th, 2025]
- When the looting starts, the shooting starts: Trump echoes notorious Black Lives Matter quote over LA anti-ICE demos - The Independent - June 12th, 2025 [June 12th, 2025]
- Understanding the History of Torture in America - Black Lives Matter - June 12th, 2025 [June 12th, 2025]
- Organizers look back to 2020 when 1,000 people marched in Black Lives Matter protest in Green Bay - Green Bay Press-Gazette - June 7th, 2025 [June 7th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza 5 Years Later - The Washington Informer - June 7th, 2025 [June 7th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter was an outbreak of global hysteria - Spiked - June 7th, 2025 [June 7th, 2025]
- What I learned from the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter uprising - The Guardian - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Five Years of Black Lives Matter: Top conspiracy theories about the death of George Floyd - Times of India - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter wasnt interested in truth - Spiked - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- I walked across the south of America in a Black Lives Matter shirt this is what happened - London Evening Standard - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Storyville: White Man Walking review the man who marched 1,500 miles with a Black Lives Matter sign - The Guardian - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Five years on from Black Lives Matter, has the UK made progress on ethnic equalities? - The Guardian - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- 'Coming from a place of accountability' - How the Black Lives Matter movement inspired analyst and ex-USMNT star Taylor Twellman to earn a degree 20... - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Five years of virtue signalling: the failure of Black Lives Matter - The Telegraph - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Was the Black Lives Matter rebellion all for nothing? It may feel like that, but I have seen reasons for hope - The Guardian - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Highland Park to restore Black Lives Matter mural - Central New Jersey News - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter street murals stand as an enduring reminder of protests against racism - Lynchburg News and Advance - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- 'Black lives matter': Demonstrators march in Southeast Portland, paying tribute to George Floyd, 5 years after his murder - KGW - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- History Today: How George Floyds killing in US gave rise to Black Lives Matter movement - Firstpost - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Free Palestine Replaces Black Lives Matter as the Cause of the Activist Class - The New York Sun - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- The far-right's resurgence was only a matter of time after Black Lives Matter - Big Issue - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Inside the Big Issue: The rise and fall of Black Lives Matter - Big Issue - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Five Years After the Murder of George Floyd, New Survey Measures Views on Race, Policing and Black Lives Matter - Good Faith Media - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Backlash: The Murder of George Floyd TV review tracing the transatlantic spread of Black Lives Matter - Financial Times - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Minneapolis still broken, divided and suffering 5 years after George Floyd death: Black Lives Matter was never here - New York Post - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter: Will Donald Trump pardon Derek Chauvin, convicted of killing George Floyd? What we kn - Times of India - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- BC teacher who referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as 'animals' gets reprimanded - Infotel.ca - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Teachers Are Building the Future. Trump Is Tearing It Down. - Black Lives Matter - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Megyn Kelly criticizes Met Gala's Tailoring Black Style theme: "It was basically Black Lives Matter at the Met" - Media Matters - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza's end like its beginning is a barometer of the times - Roanoke Times - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Seattle Parks working on plan for new memorial in Cal Anderson marking CHOP and the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests UPDATE - CHS Capitol Hill... - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza's end like its beginning is a barometer of the times - Ottumwa Courier - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza's end like its beginning is a barometer of the times - southernminn.com - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza's end like its beginning is a barometer of the times - thederrick.com - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- D.C.'s Black Lives Matter mural will be erased. Look back at the iconic street painting - NPR - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- D.C. Mayor Orders Removal of Black Lives Matter Mural She Commissioned After House GOP Threatens to Do It for Her - PEOPLE - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Reconstruction of D.C.s Black Lives Matter Plaza to begin next week - Washington Times - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Washington, DC, to remove 'Black Lives Matter' painting from street near White House, mayor says - The Associated Press - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Bigger fish to fry: Why DC is making changes to Black Lives Matter Plaza painting - WTOP - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Washington mayor says Black Lives Matter Plaza near White House to be redesigned - Reuters - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza to be redesigned as part of new DC mural project - FOX 5 DC - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia leads attack on Black Lives Matter Plaza. What we know - Online Athens - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Suggests Black Lives Matter Plaza Will Be Painted Over - The New York Times - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC mayor to remove Black Lives Matter Plaza amid pressure from White House - NBC Washington - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Once declared 'permanent,' Washington, D.C.'s Black Lives Matter Plaza will soon be painted over - Fast Company - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Opinion | D.C. can respect Black Lives Matter without street art - The Washington Post - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC Mayor suggests city will paint over Black Lives Matter Plaza near White House - The Hill - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- D.C. mayor to ditch Black Lives Matter mural, street name to avoid scrum with GOP on Capitol Hill - Washington Times - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Mural near White House will be replaced with a new mural as part of DCs America 250 mural project - PoPville - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - KCBY.com 11 - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - WGME - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - NTV - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - KRCR - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - WRGB - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - WPEC - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - WEAR - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - FoxReno.com - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - krcgtv.com - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - Dayton 24/7 Now - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - ktvo.com - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Federal judge inclined to side with USPS over seized Black Lives Matter merch - Courthouse News Service - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Analysis: Whatever happened to Black Lives Matter? - Church Times - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- How old was Trayvon Martin when he died? A look back at the teen's death that sparked Black Lives Matter Movement - Soap Central - February 11th, 2025 [February 11th, 2025]
- On Trayvon Martins 30th Birthday, Black Lives Still Matter - Word In Black - February 5th, 2025 [February 5th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action in Olympia School District from Feb. 3-7 - The Jolt News - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Trump could undo everything the UK learnt from Black Lives Matter - inews - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Posters with Black Lives Matter term to be voted on by Lakeville school board - CBS News - February 1st, 2025 [February 1st, 2025]
- Lakeville school board to vote Tuesday on use of "Black Lives Matter" posters - CBS News - February 1st, 2025 [February 1st, 2025]
- Art by African Americans: From the Protest of the 60's to the Age of Black Lives Matter - TAPinto.net - January 22nd, 2025 [January 22nd, 2025]
- Community continues to demand answers concerning Rayvon Shahid during Black Lives Matter protests - Flint Courier News - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter protests police shooting of 17-year-old in Flint - WJRT - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter Flint hosts three-day protest for death of 17-year-old Rayvon Shahid - WEYI - November 21st, 2024 [November 21st, 2024]
- Davis, Black Lives Matter say police discipline bill is being rushed - WVPE Public Media - November 21st, 2024 [November 21st, 2024]
- Revealed: Starmer called for an export ban on police gear to Trump during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2 - Daily Mail - November 14th, 2024 [November 14th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter activist to vote for Donald Trump: 'I definitely would not be supporting Kamala Harris' - Fox News - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter activist to vote for Donald Trump: 'I definitely would not be supporting Kamala Harris' - MSN - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter activist to vote for Donald Trump: 'I definitely would not be supporting Kamala Harris' - AOL - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Lake County Black Lives Matter co-founder going to jail on contempt charge: They said I was trying to incite a riot - Chicago Tribune - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]