Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977). Go, 2003, Oil on canvas mounted on five panels
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Kehinde Wiley is well known for painting contemporary young black African American men in not so contemporary backgrounds. When looking at this mural I found that what should have been innocent, plump, angelic cherubs floating about, was replaced by buff, thuggish black men. I also found this mural to be very humorous and probably the funniest piece of art at the Brooklyn museum. I could not help but laugh at the image of gangster black men floating around in such gentle positions, resembling those of ballerinas. There is a great mixture of contemporary and traditional art in this piece. Perhaps this piece in a critique on what is considered beautiful or heroic in the art world.