"Lux et Veritas" at the NSU Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale

"Another Fight for Remembrance" 
by Titus Kaphar (2014) 

"Lux et Veritas" is the motto of Yale University. For those of us not conversant in Latin, it means light and truth. It is also the name of an exhibit now running at the NSU Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. The show features the work of artists of color who attended Yale's School of Art for graduate studies in the years 2000-2010. The curators focused on this timeframe because it was a "transformative period in contemporary art." Students of color were in a distinct minority and created informal affiliations to support one another as they explored new artistic mediums and styles. The exhibit is both exciting and challenging. I loved (most of) it.   

While the show primarily features artists with whom I was not familiar, a couple of names jumped out at me. Titus Kaphar is an artist I "discovered" at Art Basel last year, and I quickly became a fan. 

"Another Fight for Remembrance" is from a series of paintings Kaphar did in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown and the Ferguson protests. His related work -- entitled "Yet Another Fight for Remembrance" -- was commissioned by Time magazine for its cover recognizing the Ferguson Protesters, the runners-up to Ebola Fighters for Time's Person of the Year. In the works in this series, Kaphar splashes white paint across the canvas to signify the erasure of Michael Brown, Black men more generally and the members of the public protesting against police violence. To see "Yet Another Fight for Remembrance," click here. 

Kaphar was again commissioned by Time to create a painting for the June 15, 2020 cover following the murder of George Floyd. The work features a Black woman holding a silhouette of a child. The silhouette is physically cut into the canvas. Click here to see "Analgous Colors." For Kaphar's website, click here. Take a few moments to watch the short film that introduces you to his work. It is brilliant and chilling.  

"Mirror Faced II" and "Mirror Faced I" by Wangechi Mutu (2020)

The art of Wangechi Mutu was a new discovery for me but not to the art world. In 2019 the Kenyan-American artist was commissioned to create sculptures that would "animate the Met's historic facade." When the Met was renovated in 1902, the architect envisioned sculptures of the four most important moments in art history in the building's four niches. For 107 years those niches have remained empty. Mutu was tapped to be the first artist to fill them. 

Her "The New Ones, will free Us" series was inspired by caryatids, or sculpted female figures that provide architectural support. They take the place of columns or pillars. As she looked at the Met's collection of caryatids, she considered the physical and emotional role of women as load bearers. Her thoughts went to African sculptures in which women are depicted carrying the seat of the king on their heads or children in their arms. Mutu's women have become independent of those obligations. In "Mirror Faced I" and "Mirror Faced II," Mutu continues to explore these ideas.

You may be wondering, as I was, what the meaning of the mirrored discs is. The discs reference the circular lip plates women in some African cultures wear as a status symbol. The mirrors flash and summon the viewer's attention while reflecting the world back at her. They make Mutu's creations unsettling and otherworldly. Evoking those feelings is intentional, a reference to the superhuman powers of women.  

For more on Mutu's creations for her Facade Commission, click here. If you're in the New York area, Mutu is a featured artist at Storm King Art Center until November. Click here to read about that exhibit. And for more on Mutu's work in general, click here.

"I Belong to the Distance (#2)" by Torkwase Dson (2022)

Torkwase Dyson's "I Belong to the Distance (#2)" greets museumgoers when they enter the lobby of the NSU Museum of Art. The monumental work was commissioned by the Museum for the exhibit, although I suspect it will stay in place for years to come. 

The wall card explained that Dyson's work "investigates how our built and natural environment defines our conditions of movement." I have to admit that I did not find that description particularly clarifying. But when I read on, I learned that the shapes in her work reference the ways in which slaves escaped to freedom. Squares and rectangles, for instance, are a nod to the wooden crate in which slave Henry "Box" Brown shipped himself  from Virginia to freedom with some Philadelphia abolitionists in 1849. To read an interview with Dyson, click here. And to see more of her work, including the first "I Belong to the Distance," click here.

"The Apostle Peter" by Kehinde Wiley (2006)

I'll leave you with "The Apostle Peter" by Kehinde Wiley. Wiley has become wildly famous for his work featuring African-Americans in updated versions of Old Master paintings (and his portrait of President Obama). He's known for his "street casting" -- randomly approaching people on the street to see if they'd be willing to sit for him. (I suspect it's much easier to find models these days than when he was starting out.) And here's a fun fact: His backgrounds are typically covered with botanical patterns inspired by the work of British textile designer William Morris. For more on that little tidibit, click here. 

In Wiley's paintings, viewers are invited to consider the way history is shaped through works of art. Whose story is being told, and from what perspective? How does the insertion of young Black figures into these classical paintings affect our perceptions of the world? In "The Apostle Peter," Wiley references a painting of Peter done by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1527. (Click here to see that work.) The gold key represents the spiritual authority given to Peter by Christ. I'll leave you to consider the significance of replacing Peter with an African-American youth. For more about Kehinde Wiley's Christian-themed portraits, click here. And to explore Wiley's website, click here.

"Lux et Veritas" runs through October 23 at the NSU Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. Click here for more about the exhibit and images of other works in the show. Also on display through October 2 is an interesting exhibit that explores the relationships between the art of Keith Haring and Pierre Alechinsky. For information on that show, click here. 

Next up: The murals of Wynwood Walls.