Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley (born 1977) is a New York-based portrait painter who is known for his highly naturalistic paintings of people with brown skin in heroic poses. Wiley has been featured in the Brooklyn museum of the arts as a resident artist multiple times. Wiley asks us to think about the biases of the art historical canon (the pieces that are regarded as “masterpieces”), representation in pop culture, and issues of race and gender. Wiley creates themes that meet the culture parameters of those living in the now. His approach seems contemporary and reflective of a culture notorious for flashy imagery and larger than life figures: hip hop culture. In some of his works young men wears camouflage fatigues, Timberland work boots, and a bandanna—conjuring up militaristic associations with the original painting and with the violence of contemporary urban America such as in gangs, particularly as experienced by young black men. While he does plenty of work using the black male image he does not forget the black women and constantly emphasizes their worth and beauty. Kehinde Wiley has also been hired by some of the most notable African American artist of the 21st century. He has created heroic portraits of artist such as Ice-T, LL Cool J, Michael Jackson, and even Biggie Smalls.

Wiley's success cannot be attributed to his ability to capture the dynamics of well off celebrities, but his ability to capture the average black person and portray them as leaders. In media it is more common to find an image of a black person in despair or in a moments of squalor, however as Wiley has been painting for over 10 years he has made the average black man and woman become the equivalent to European kings like Napoleon. In this large painting, Kehinde Wiley strategically re-creates a French masterpiece from two hundred years before but with key differences. This act of appropriation reveals issues about the tradition of portraiture and all that it implies about power and privilege. Napoleon Leading the Army is a clear spin-off of Jacques-Louis David’s painting of 1800-01 (right), which was commissioned by Charles IV, the King of Spain, to commemorate Napoleon’s victorious military campaign against the Austrians. Napoleon, in fact, did not pose for the original painting nor did he lead his troops over the mountains into Austria. He sent his soldiers ahead on foot and followed a few days later, riding on a mule. Wiley calls attention to ideas about authority and historical representation, keeping many original elements and making significant alterations.

Kehinde Wiley's work can also be noticed for its trademark backgrounds. Instead of creating protrates to be placed its most natural heroic setting like Western art, Wiley abstracts the portrait by placing these highly naturalistic images to be surrounded by vibrant colors and decorations such as design and other floral backgrounds. Instead of the naturalistic setting of David’s painting, Wiley has inserted a decorative, unrealistic backdrop reminiscent of luxurious French fabric. This background, along with the high-keyed colors, and ornate frame calls attention to the artificiality and pompousness of image-making. The background is also infused with tiny paintings of sperm—Wiley’s way of poking fun at the highly charged masculinity and propagation of gendered identity that are involved in the Western tradition of portraiture.