Kehinde Wiley, “Solomon Mashash,” oil and gold enamel on canvas, 2011 (© 2011 by Kehinde Wiley)
THE WORLD STAGE: ISRAEL
Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd St.
Thursday, March 15, $15, 6:30
Exhibition continues through July 29
212-423-3337
www.thejewishmuseum.org
www.kehindewiley.com
Born in Los Angeles and based in New York City, painter Kehinde Wiley has been traveling the global diaspora for his “World Stage” series, taking portraits of men of color in Brazil, China, Nigeria, India and Sri Lanka, and Lagos and Dakar. The Jewish Museum has just opened “The World Stage: Israel,” fourteen large-scale works that feature young men standing in front of elaborate backgrounds, staring directly at the viewer. The decorative background patterns, based on Jewish ceremonial art, include plants and animals that also twist and climb in the foreground, entwining the subject. Each work is shown in a black hand-carved frame topped by a pair of Judean lions surrounding tablets containing either the Ten Commandments (for Jewish men, several of Ethiopian descent) or the Rodney King plea “Can we all get along?” (for Arab men) in Hebrew. Some of the men take distinctly homoerotic poses, confronting the viewer with their gaze; all stand in familiar “heroic” poses representative of European portraiture. The paintings are accompanied by Torah ark curtains, bed covers, Ketubahs (elaborately designed wedding certificates), and papercuts selected by Wiley from the museum’s permanent collection that work in dialogue with Wiley’s backgrounds, placing them in artistic and historical context. The exhibition also includes a short film in which Wiley discusses his process and meets with some of his subjects. “I think there is a strong correlation between being on the margins of society as a person of color in America,” Wiley says in the film, “and that which we see in the streets of Israel.” Portrait subject Solomon Mashash adds, “It’s very hard to live your daily life as a black person here in Israel. When somebody tells you you’re not worth something, if you believe him, your mind believes him. If you change your mind, he cannot do anything to you.” Wiley’s paintings seek to reassert the identity of diverse cultures, empowering individuals to present themselves with pride. You can hear more from Wiley when he takes part in a conversation with culture reporter Lola Ogunnaike at the Jewish Museum on March 15 at 6:30.