Titus Kaphar - “Yet Another Fight for Remembrance” 2016
Titus Kaphar - “Yet Another Fight for Remembrance” 2016
Titus Kaphar was born in 1982 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Growing up, he faced the challenges of navigating the complexities of identity and race, especially in a predominantly white space. His early life was influenced by personal experiences with history, which shaped his perspective on the lack of representation of African Americans in Western art, and erasure of African American History. Kaphar attended the California College of the Arts (Oakland) and later earned his MFA from Yale University in 2006. His time at Yale allowed him to refine his artistic practice and gain access to institutional support, but despite his academic credentials, Kaphar faced the challenge of making a name for himself in a predominantly white, elitist art world. Growing his career during a time where the mainstream art community consisted of racial lenses and stereotypes surrounding African American art. Nonetheless Kaphar continually confronted the invisibility and under-representation of African Americans in art history, his art grew to explore themes of race, identity, and historical erasure. His work often includes classical artistic technique but often a deconstructed version of traditional European and American art. Kaphar has openly discussed how the art world, particularly in mainstream galleries, often does not know where to place Black artists — sometimes boxing them into themes of racial injustice or limiting their creative expression to specific “Black” experiences. His work draws from visual languages of traditional Western portraiture, often including iconic moments in art history. He then transforms these pieces such as one of Kaphar’s most famous performance art pieces “One: Titus Kaphar”. The act of erasure plays a significant role in Kaphar’s art, it involves physically altering paintings or sculptures to remove certain elements or figures and singling out other figures.
“Yet Another Fight for Remembrance” is one of Kaphar’s most powerful protest pieces. The piece is part of his ongoing exploration of historical erasure and his desire to restore agency and visibility to marginalized figures in history. The painting is based on the protests that erupted in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager by a police officer. The painting is a fight to remember and acknowledge the experiences of Black individuals often erased from historical narratives, the title highlights the ongoing struggle for recognition and justice against systemic racism.The violence in Ferguson was not an isolated incident but rather part of a much larger historical pattern of systemic racism and injustice experienced by African Americans. The protests highlighted not only police violence but also the ongoing cultural and historical erasure of Black people from dominant narratives in the media, art, and history. Titus Kaphar, like many artists, responded to these protests by reflecting on his own work, which addresses these issues of erasure and marginalization. The cutting away of the white figure in “Yet Another Fight for Remembrance” represents the idea of disrupting historical narratives that have long ignored African Americans. It symbolizes a desire to take back control of the narrative, to demand visibility for Black people and their struggles, both historically and in the present day. More broadly, in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement and the violence against Black individuals is not just physically, it is also epistemologically (relating to the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion) shown in the erasure of their humanity from dominant historical and cultural narratives. The act of slashing the canvas in Kaphar's painting can also be seen as a metaphor for the violent racial divide and systemic dehumanization that people like Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and countless other Black victims of violence have faced. In broader terms, Kaphar’s work can also be seen as a response to the historical legacies of racial violence, such as slavery, segregation, and ongoing systemic racism.
The painting is created with Oil paint, a very traditional medium which is then innovated on top off with manipulations of the canvas. The use of oil allows for deep, rich colors and nuanced textures, which are characteristic of classical European portraiture. By using this traditional medium, Kaphar is simultaneously aligning his work with the academic traditions of the Western art canon, while also subverting those traditions in his act of historical intervention. The tearing and cutting of the canvas is also done with precision to perfectly evoke a feeling of peeling away. The layering technique used by Kaphar makes the figures in the background feel as if they are emerging from the torn canvas.
At its core, the piece is a statement on historical memory, one that insists on the necessity of remembering the full scope of history, including the stories of African Americans that have often been ignored. Kaphar’s work speaks about the ongoing struggles for justice, visibility, and equality in contemporary society, making it a timely and powerful reflection on the legacy of racial violence. Kaphar invites us to engage with the past, confront the ways in which history has been written, and consider the power of art to reshape that narrative. The painting is not just a commentary on art history but a call to action, urging us to remember, to listen, and to recognize the humanity of those who have long been pushed to the margins. DO you find this traditional yet innovative way to create art intriguing or inspirational?
Titus Kaphar - “Yet Another Fight for Remembrance” 2016 (4 ft x 5 ft (121.9 cm by 152.4 cm)
