Visual Images in the art reflect the society from history to the modern day and a comprehensive language of communicating contemporary issues. The immersive nature of virtual elements always actively influences the viewer’s emotions by making them ‘experience’ moments by observing (Helfand, 2110 n p). Visual culture has been used since ancient times and currently in the modern world as a tool for constructing seamless illusions. Scholars argued that the “visual element” used in the contemporary world is the ultimate way of producing reality (Helfand, 2110 n p). The effects of visual reality in society are usually ignored, but they are critical in influencing how people perceive the world. As outlined in the visual essay proposal, Contemporary art through graphical images is essential for communicating the discrimination people face in society in the day to day lives based on race, gender, social class, sexuality, and ethnicity.
Titus Kaphar- Race, Class, and Power
Titus Kaphar made his most iconic portrait, using his skills of combining art to talk about slavery in the history of America. He depicted the moments just after the American independence, with the founding fathers, reminding the people of America of a narrative whereby the founding fathers and other white Americans had love affairs with African American women whom they owned as slaves (Hedges, 2019 n p). Thomas Jefferson is referred to as a “benevolent enslaver” in the modern day (Hedges, 2019 n p). He had a complex relationship with a black woman, Sally Hemmings, depicted in that portrait as a representation of other black women who have been indulged in love affairs, despite being regarded as racially inferior (Hedges, 2019 n p). Titus reminds Americans of the history and the power dynamics dictated by racism and oppression. The artwork also shows the role of African Americans in the era of slavery and helps people reflect on the issue of racial-based oppression.
Kent Monkman- Ethnicity and Class
The Wooden Boat People (Mitsikowak) is a combination of two paintings made by Kent Monkman, “Welcoming the Newcomers” and “Resurgence of the People.” The work was done to revive the natural history of the Native Americans. The images describe how the colonialists of Europe arrived in North America and how they were received by the indigenous people, with mixed reactions, some welcoming and others reluctant (Reder & Sophie, 2020 n p). The issue of ethnicity is heavily presented in Monk man’s work, depicting moments during colonialism. The second image, “Resurgence of the People,” demonstrates the resilience of the indigenous people amid oppression and discrimination by the colonizers (Reder & Sophie, 2020 n p). The artist combines early and modern ages in the second painting, with Native Americans on a raft looking worried, and a group of modern soldiers at a distance raising their weapons, celebrating victory (Reder & Sophie, 2020 n p). The images portray the forgotten historical narratives of colonialism. The visual images play a vital role in teaching generations how ethnicity in America began and the resilience demonstrated by the oppressed indigenous people (Reder & Sophie, 2020 n p).
Kent Monkman Miss Chief Eagle Testicle- Gender Identity and Sexuality
Kent Monkman’s alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testicles in figures 4, 5, and 6
Gender identity and sexuality in society have become increasingly disputed daily in people’s lives worldwide. The modern contemporary artist, with one of the most iconic Canadian, Kent Monkman, has chosen to depict his works on gender and sexuality with his creativity, the central figure in most of his work, Miss Chief Eagle Testicle (Gagne, 2016 n p). He uses the indigenous people as his work’s protagonists of their relationship with colonizers. The bisexual figure comes into view following the current standoff on the conspiracy of the (LGBTQs). Monkman demonstrates through his works that the issues of sexuality existed in history by referring most of his work to the European and indigenous artists of the past and the struggle (Gagne, 2016 n p).
Mickalene Thomas: Race, Gender Identity and Sexuality
Sleep constitutes several paintings by a contemporary artist on gender identity and sexuality, Mickalene Thomas. Thomas also uses past artwork to make his images, indicating that the issues he addresses existed long ago. Her work, “sleep,” in 2012, depicts two women sleeping, a white woman and a black woman, in an intimate position, illustrating lesbianism (Hollowell, 2012 n p). She made yet another painting, demonstrating the same sexual content but this time with two black women. Thomas bases her work on reference to 19th-century French artist Gustav Courbet’s “The Sleepers,” who had painted two women intimately positioned on a bed (Hollowell, 2012 n p). The art primarily advocates for the normalization of homosexual love in the modern day, an issue that has caused conflicting views from various people worldwide (Hollowell, 2012 n p). The images nevertheless show the kinds of issues that are happening in everyday life.
Wangechi Mutu- Race, Identity and Sexuality
Wangechi depicts her artwork based on sexuality, feminism, beauty, and race. She has produced remarkable pieces of art which dwell much on feminism. She does her work to illustrate the issues related to females and sexuality as sexual objects by men (Lewis, n d). The works influence viewers to borrow her ideas and think critically about the issues of sexuality in society and empowering feminism. One of her outstanding works, “Adult Sexual Organs,” uses a Victorian medicine diagram to illustrate the biasness of sexual repression in society concerning gender and race (Lewis, n d). She distorts race by painting a controversial face and puts a prototype of a white model to occupy the brain of the image. In the context of race and gender identity, the image visually draws the attention of the viewer, who is made uncomfortable by the image and attracts them to have a closer look to understand the racial and gender concepts depicted, which are still critical issues in society today.
Works Cited
Gagne, Stephanie. “Reviewing Butlerss ‘Gender is Burnings through Kent Monkmanss Miss Chief Eagle Testicle.” 2016.
Hedges, Emily. “Yet Another Fight for Remembrance: Titus Kaphar’s Representation of Race in the Past and the Present.” 2019.
Helfand, Jessica. Screen: Essays on graphic design, new media, and visual culture. Princeton Architectural Press, 2001.
Hollowell, Love. “Reflections on Sexuality, Sensuality, and Painting.” 2012.
Lewis, Heidi R., and Roland Mitchell. “Beyond Mammy, Jezebel, & Sapphire.”
Reder, Deanna, and Sophie McCall. “Indigenous and Postcolonial Studies: Tensions and Interrelationships, Creative and Critical Interventions.” Ariel 51.2-3 2020: 1.
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