WMAA 2019 DC Contemporary Artists in Smithsonian American Art

I had a little more time in DC to visit another museum, so I met with a friend in DC and we went to go see American Art. I spent a good majority of this trip studying, looking at and discovering historical artwork, artifacts, and culture for African Americans, but have not seen much contemporary work. I was unable to spend as much time as I would have wanted, but I still was able to see a good chunk of contemporary work done by Black (queer) artists.

This was the first time I saw a Theater Gates piece in person. Theaster Gates was actually one of the first artists I could name when I was fresh to the art world. I saw a NCECA poster in the ceramic room at SIUC with a Kevin Snipes piece, researched him and NCECA, got excited about Black ceramic artists, found Theaster Gates NCECA talk and got inspired by him to pursue the arts. Not much to say about the work, but I have a lot of respect for what he continues to do. Plus, it is just nice to finally see a work of his. He does a lot of repurposing in his work, something on my long laundry list of things to consider when making work.

Kerry James Marshall is an exceptional painter that pushes the understanding of the color Black.

Mickalene Thomas is a queer Black woman artist. One of very few Black women artists I see in a museum, and one of the extremely few Black queer women artists I see in a museum. Her presence in this space is so important to me. The artwork also reads differently in person than in picture. 

Learned about Lava Thomas in this very moment. Someone I did not know about prior to this travel research tour which is exactly what I wanted to experience. I wanted to gain more Black contemporary artists to put in my growing memory catalog. I also enjoy that this work is finding a way to honor Black lives lost in a very politically driven massacre without making visibly about the political intent and more about the honoring of their lives. This work reflects the sentiments I strive for in my work. Centering the memory and humanity also around the individuals and Black culture, and not explicitly around the tragedy or even the murderer.

Amy Sherald is a genius, and this painting of Michelle Obama is proof of that. I am not much of a portrait person, but this painting grabs my full attention every time and for a long time. This experience I have with the piece is what I want people to have with my work.

Kehinde Wiley

 Not contemporary, but I learned about this controversial piece made by Edmonia Lewis in one of my classes. I was absolutely ecstatic to see it in person. 

 Also not contemporary, but Dave the Potter. A prominent Black slave potter who signed his pots with self written poems.


All in all, I gained some insight from this experience. Though, most of the Black artists I saw in the museum were artists I already knew, I still gained a valuable experience seeing the work in person. Being able to see how the work exists in real space helps subdue concerns for my own work. I also got to learn about Lava Thomas who is new to me.