“ When street casting, I would say I look for alpha male behavior and sensibility, but what that ultimately ends up looking like can be sometimes conflicting. Sometimes someone who is very large in presence and gait is in the same photo shoot as someone rather small. I don’t think I have a formula for it, but it’s sort of in the process that it all comes out.” (Wiley, 2012)

Kehinde Wiley was born in 1977 in Los Angeles California and currently resides in New York City. He attended college at The San Francisco Art Institute and receieved a masters at Yale University’s school of art.

By comparing modern man to a classical historical pose Wiley is comparing modernity to past culture. “Hijacking — or appropriating, to use the art world-approved term — the format of old master altarpieces and three-quarter-length portraits, he likened the notorious opulence of successful hip-hop artists to that of European aristocrats. And since most of his subjects were actually disenfranchised black and brown youths — that is, hip-hop fans rather than stars — he effectively transformed his subjects into aristocrats, at least in the world of the picture.” (Schwendener, 2012)

“Wiley’s work melds a fluid concept of modern culture, ranging from French Rococo to today’s urban landscape.”(National Portrait Gallery, 2007)

Questions:

1 Where was Kehinde Wiley born and where does he currently reside?

2. How does Kehinde Wiley choose models for his paintings?

3. What are Wiley’s influences for his paintings?

4. What social issues does Kehinde Wiley’s work focus on?

5. What year was Wiley born?

References

"Painting: Kehinde Wiley." National Portrait Gallery. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. 25 Apr.

2013. <http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/paintings.html>.

Schwendener, Martha. (22 March, 2012). The Diaspora is remixed.  The New York Times.

Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/arts/design/the-diaspora-is-

remixed.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/W/Wiley,%20Kehinde?

ref=kehindewiley&_r=2&>.

Wiley, K. (2013). Kehinde Wiley Studio. Kehinde Wiley Studio Retrieved from:

http://www.kehindewiley.com/faq.html.