Across history artists have documented culture. Powerfully, through image, either informing or questioning events caught in a moment in time. Some images have even led to a change, an awareness and a call to action.
Kerry James Marshall’s incredible paintings focus on the Civil Rights Movement and the everyday lives of African Americans. His painting ‘Untitled – Policeman’ was created in 2015, at the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. In the artwork there is a policeman perched on the front of his squad car. This painting speaks volumes about identity. It not only critiques the racial profiling by law enforcement but acts as a reminder that many black people serve within the police force. ‘The duality of being black and serving in blue.’ Marshall’s works are just so amazing, the harmonious tones of colour indicting a setting of night and his wonderful vivid style. I love the little details like the lamps in the background and their spiky glow in the evening sky.
Shahzia Sikander studied the techniques of Persian and Mughal miniature painting. This traditional art form was used to tell stories of religious and historical context. Sikander took this practice, which creates overlapping layers of washes of inks and paint, to express ever changing forms and identities. She plays with context, multiple meanings and symbols, playfully with no fixed narrative. She uses silhouettes of men, women and beasts forming together. In the work ‘Candied’ the black lines represent Gopi the lover of Krishna. I was really drawn to Sikander’s works, they are so sensitively made and they feel almost dream like. I love the white figure at the top of the piece, she either looks like a woman dancing or a playful spirit. It reminds me of a story like A Midsummer’s Nights Dream. The characters are almost moving with each other in space and time.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres uses a recognisable object to depict a disease effecting many lives in the late 80’s early 90’s. The AIDS crisis. The work ‘Untitled – Perfect Lovers’ was created shortly after Gonzalez- Tores’s partner was diagnosed with HIV. The two identical clocks are initially set to the exact same time, touching each other on the wall. Eventually, the clocks will fall out of sync or completely stop. The simplicity of this artwork is its power. The clocks represent the presence of two people, although starting at the same time no two timelines are the same. Declining health can slow one down or even stop its movement entirely. The clock as an object records time for us every day. They are on the walls of our homes or workplace, worn on our bodies and a constant reminder on our phones. This artwork marks the inevitability of its flow, time is precious and nobody knows how much they have left. “Time is something that scares me… or used to. This piece I made with the two clocks was the scariest thing I have ever done. I wanted to face it. I wanted those two clocks right in front of me, ticking.” This artwork for me was one of the most powerful under the theme of society. Although it talks of the AIDS crisis its message is a universal one. We all love and care about somebody in our lives and the idea of being without them is too much to consider but we are all a ticking clock and we all have our own timelines to follow.
