On Kehinde Wiley and Context as an Imperative

In the very first art history course that I ever took, my (now beloved) professor presented us with a syllabus and a list of terms to acquaint ourselves with our intended discipline of study. Among the many unfamiliar terms to me — iconography, formal analysis, and chiaroscuro — was the more familiar word “context.” She paused and demanded a definition of it; her emphasis was clear. No one dared speak, either stumped as to how to precisely articulate its meaning in a pithy definition or terrified at our professor’s impatience with our silence. Finally, a brave student spoke up, “In a fuller light?” You may be seeing memes or rationales as to why you should hate the work of <a href="http://kehindewiley.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Kehinde Wiley</a>, the portraitist commissioned to paint Barack Obama’s official presidential portrait. (A separate commission for the portrait of Michelle Obama was completed by artist <a href="http://www.amysherald.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Amy Sherald</a>.) Look, I know art can be challenging and taste-driven; I’m not arguing that you need to jump on board with us art folks who think Wiley is a riveting, modern artist. <a href="https://medium.com/@gingersmithstudio/on-kehinde-wiley-and-context-as-an-imperative-a5ed86f6e1b4">Click Here</a>