Kerry James Marshall is an artist deeply invested in exploring issues of race in American society. His four-part Souvenir series memorializes political and cultural pioneers who died during the 1950s and 1960s. In the 13-foot-wide Souvenir IV (1998) a tranquil domestic scene, rendered in grey scale to emphasize a sense of historicity, is interrupted by a glittery overlay. Floating above the African American woman, herself adorned with silver wings, are the heads of blues, jazz, and R&B musicians like John Coltrane and Billie Holiday. Suspended angel-like amid clouds and stars, each speaks the name of another musical legend while still other names appear on a scroll, a roll call of the lost. If a lot of the text in Souvenir IV is sorrowful—especially the message “We Mourn Our Loss” at bottom—the image of the elderly woman adds a note of poignant celebration. Marshall’s work sidesteps conventional or condemnatory summaries of African-American experience. Instead, the artist explores the rarely acknowledged optimism that flourishes amid difficult circumstances and the pride that outlives mourning for fallen heroes.
This week, we’re sharing works of art on Instagram from Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection that demonstrate the complexity of American identity. Exploring questions of immigration, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, and class, we see our America as one of many voices.
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