Between the World and Me: Contemporary African American Artists Respond to Ta-Nehisi Coates

This academic year, the University of Oregon has asked freshmen to participate in the Common Reading  of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s book Between the World and Me. The timeliness of Coates’s subject matter and the power and poignancy of his writing inspired the JSMA to organize a companion exhibition—a “Common Seeing.” Both explore what it means to be black in the United States. The autobiographical nature of Coates’s book parallels the visual narratives created by contemporary Post-Black artists featured in the exhibition: Marc Bradford, Theaster Gates, Mildred Howard, Chris Johnson, Rashid Johnson, Glenn Ligon, Hank Willis Thomas, Kara Walker,and Kehinde Wiley (on view outside our APS Gallery). In addition, Between the World and Me examines the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, a moment in history reflected in Robert Colescott’s work Homage to Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People, 1976. Like Coates, the artists and artworks chosen for this presentation reconsider the complexity of the Black experience in America. We are deeply grateful to the many lenders to this exhibition for sharing these powerful works with our visitors. Co-curated by Jill Hartz, executive director, and Amelia Anderson, a second year MA graduate student in art history, the exhibition is made possible with a JSMA Academic Support Grant.