THREAD: Hey y’all! Many of u know that I begin my M.A. Costume Studies this Fall. I am going to be a Curator with a focus on blackness in the fashion + costume sector of heritage

In prep I’m challenging myself to learn more about Black art/artist. Daily dose of black art here

1st up is Kerry James Marshall. His work captures the black experience in such a beautiful, slightly abstract, way.

@seanbeauford did a wonderful thread mashing up Jay-Z lyrics with KJM’s artwork that really embodies the spirit his work. Enjoy it here: https://twitter.com/seanbeauford/status/1127321072049840128?s=21

Lakin Ogunbanwo’s ‘e wá mo mi’ is a series that explores the culture around Nigerian brides + marriages.

@vogue_italia spoke with Lakin about this collection + featured it on their site. To me, Rih wearing Nigerian bridal headdress in Guava Island is reminiscent of this series

Russian Ghanaian artist Liz Johnson Artur. She grew up in Bulgaria + Russia. Her photography became the way she connected with other Black people.

Her 1st solo exhibition is at @brooklynmuseum titled “Dusha” - Russian for Soul

Her photography is *chef’s kiss*

LOVE! Daveed Baptiste’s series “Haiti to the Hood” captures the experience he had as a Haitian immigrant

I love that his visuals show the intersection of his Haitian culture + Black American culture. Tampico Juice, DMX posters + Madame Gougousse rice: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/a-young-artist-charts-the-journey-from-haiti-to-hood

I’m completely obsessed with Harmonia Rosales’ artwork. She reimagines scenes from the Bible to let these people know 2 things: God is Black + God is a woman

Her ‘Birth of Oshun’, ‘Creation of God’ + that ABSOLUTELY breathtaking ‘The Virgin’ are some of my favorites. Whew

Remember when @fenoelofficial put Harmonia Rosales’ beautiful art on her dress designs? Black women, you’re doing amazing sweetie!!!!!!

I’m super into Barkley L. Hendricks right now. He’s known for capturing the coolness of being Black

He did a loooot to establish visuals of blackness in portraiture in 60s/70s. IMO he was out here challenging stereotypes of Blackness by applying an air of regality to his work

Discovered @pamelacouncil’s work + will gas it forever

She described her piece ‘Fountain of Your Youth’ as a “kinetic sculpture automotan robot "fountain" that churns up plastic pony beads, the colonial currency used in girls' protective styles” - Black girlhood + hair beads

I also love this brown paper bag test piece (2009) by @pamelacouncil

Amazing installation by @pamelacouncil - ‘Flo Jo World Record Nails’ (2012)

2,000 hand painted acrylic fingernails in the shape of a track. Love this ode to Flo Jo’s amazing acrylic nails. It’s a great nod to the social/cultural significance of acrylic nails in BW-hood

Kehinde Wiley’s new 30ft sculpture called “Rumors of War” was unveiled in Times Square last week. It features a Black man wearing locs, jeans + a hoodie. It’s a reclaiming of American history...Kind of an opposition to all those weird confederate sculptures in the south

This sculpture will be at the VA Museum of Fine Arts - a short distance away from the confederate stature Kehinde saw of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, who pushed the idea that “Confederate states were the noble targets of Northern aggression”

Richmond, the capital of the confederacy

Laetitia Ky ( @laetiky) is a Côte d’Ivoire based hair sculptor

She was inspired by hairstyle worn by pre-colonial African tribes. "Things have come a long way, but even today kinky hair is taboo for some Africans. I want to look back to our traditions and draw from them”

Ruth Ganika Ossai, a Nigerian photographer, who captures beautiful editorials! I love how she captures how west African culture intersects w/western fashion

My fav of her’s: Miu Miu's 2018 campaign to celebrate female filmmakers - Ruth shot the women of Nollywood in Miu Miu

Most recently Ruth Ginika Ossai shot Fenty’s cameo jewelry campaign —

She also short a campaign in Lagos for Vogue Portugal around Nigerian church girl style

I LOVE Ruth Ossai’sseries on Nsukka style - The Univ of Nigeria is in Nsukka so there’s a cool mix of traditional + modern

“Aunties are the true style queens. There are so many stylish young ppl but the elders carry themselves better bcuz of their grace” - Ruth via Vogue

Shawn Theodore’s gorgeous imagery mixes photography + collage work

Ima just drop these images + go. They speak for themselves!

Shawn Theodore’s work “Being Black Outweigh’s One’s Blues” appeared on one of the four April 2016 covers of the @NMAAHC Smithsonian magazine to commemorate the opening of the museum

Love to see it!

Elizabeth Colomba’s beautiful oil on canvas work — Harlem Elizabeth is described as an artist who “paints the women art history forgot”

I love seeing Black women painted in this baroque style. No servants, No fetishizing, just rich fabrics + beauty

PJ Harper ( @PJharper98) — His sculptures capture the beauty + complexities of Blackness in such a unique way.

IMO his art isn’t pretentious or unapproachable. It’s political without having to try to hard but ultimately is is so aesthetically bomb! @AZDGPi exposed me to his work

Khari Rahim’s beautiful artwork.

“My work right now is a diary of struggle + overcoming struggle. I’m exploring the history of Black defeat, Black revolutions + Black accomplishments coalescing through mark making, realism + expressionism” - @iknowkhari