8th graders recently went to the de Young Museum to view Kehinde Wiley’s exhibit, Archaeology of Silence. Kehinde Wiley is widely known for his presidential portrait of Barack Obama, and his work featuring African Americans using the traditional styles of the old masters. Archaeology of Silence continues Wiley’s work of drawing attention to the value of Black lives through large scale paintings and an exquisite attention to detail. Through this field experience, students were able to see up close how artists are able to convey deep emotion and powerful ideas through visual imagery.
Prior to the museum visit, students gained knowledge of Kehinde Wiley’s art style and visual tropes through viewing and analyzing his works, and comparing them with the 17th-19th century European paintings he has recreated. They watched a series of interviews with the artist to gain insight into his background and motivations, and discussed parallels between Wiley’s life and artwork with On the Come up, a book they were reading in language arts class. Students also viewed a video poem response to the Archaeology of Silence exhibit, made by an Oakland Youth Poet Laureate.
Through these sessions, students developed a list of questions they had about the artist, and recurring themes and symbolism in his artwork. For example: Why does he use florals in his paintings? Are the figures sleeping or dead? Why are the colors unnaturally vibrant? Why are the figures all wearing name brand clothing? Why is the show called an Archaeology of Silence?
During their museum visit, students brought these questions with them, and used information from their observations, the audio guides, and museum labels to help answer them. Students also developed new questions, and were able to use the ideas and information provided in the exhibit to broaden and expand their thinking. Here are some quotes from student workbooks:
“[The florals] cradle the subject [and] create a comforting surrounding while still being sad.”
“What makes this figure special while still being ordinary?”
“How long did this take? It’s huge!”
“I connect the poses of the people in the images with depictions that I have seen of Jesus.”
“[Archaeology of Silence] refers to a phrase by Michael Foucault, talking about ‘making visible a socially repressed phenomenon.’”
“This show is moving, it makes you think about the effects of racism and discrimination against African Americans.”
“I used to think that the content [of Kehinde Wiley’s work] was mostly just brutal. Now I think that it’s more than that, it’s about both life and death and not just the latter.”
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