Jahnavi Inniss
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Black British History Quilt
Project Context
The Gallery
Head of a Man (?Ira Aldridge) by John Simpson in the Tate Britain gallery is an example whereby the captioning directly influences the audience’s interpretation of the artwork. Whilst the painting was previously exhibited under the title Head of a Black in 1827 and later, The Negro in 1853, it demonstrates how the sitter had been immediately reduced to his race, simply through its titling. Whilst the audience used this to aid their interpretation and create meaning, it led to assumptions surrounding the identity of the sitter, which positioned him solely in relation to slavery. Whilst the subject is deliberately left ‘to be anonymous’ (The Racial and Identity Politics of Head of a Man – Look Closer | Tate, n.d.) It was later implied that the painting was in fact a portrait of Ira Aldridge, a successful Shakespearean actor in 18th century Britain. Although the sitter’s identity indefinitely remains unknown, Tate Britain’s titling and captioning directly imply that the sitter is Ira Aldridge.
This highlights the implicit bias that exists within arts institutions and demonstrates the ways in which the particular narratives or lack thereof influence our interpretations of artwork. Whilst the Tate gallery claim to be aware of this bias, they’re working on setting up a new initiative whereby gallery visitors can submit any additional information they may have of an artwork housed in their permanent collection.
Head of a Man (?Ira Aldridge) by John Simpson in the Tate Britain gallery is an example whereby the captioning directly influences the audience’s interpretation of the artwork. Whilst the painting was previously exhibited under the title Head of a Black in 1827 and later, The Negro in 1853, it demonstrates how the sitter had been immediately reduced to his race, simply through its titling. Whilst the audience used this to aid their interpretation and create meaning, it led to assumptions surrounding the identity of the sitter, which positioned him solely in relation to slavery. Whilst the subject is deliberately left ‘to be anonymous’ (The Racial and Identity Politics of Head of a Man – Look Closer | Tate, n.d.) It was later implied that the painting was in fact a portrait of Ira Aldridge, a successful Shakespearean actor in 18th century Britain. Although the sitter’s identity indefinitely remains unknown, Tate Britain’s titling and captioning directly imply that the sitter is Ira Aldridge.
This highlights the implicit bias that exists within arts institutions and demonstrates the ways in which the particular narratives or lack thereof influence our interpretations of artwork. Whilst the Tate gallery claim to be aware of this bias, they’re working on setting up a new initiative whereby gallery visitors can submit any additional information they may have of an artwork housed in their permanent collection.
Kara Walker
Reflecting on the use of narratives within the gallery space, I continued to investigate how the visual codes and languages used within artwork itself can create dialogue for contentious subjects and themes through the astute use of allegory.
In my visit to the Tate Modern, I was able to view Fons Americanus, a 40-foot art installation piece by the artist Kara Walker. Through imitating the Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace, Walker ‘inverts the usual function of a memorial and questions narratives around power’. (Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus – Look Closer | Tate, n.d.)
Through the combination of extensive metaphors within Fons Americanus, Walker confronts us with the violent history of Britain’s prominent role in the transatlantic slave trade. Walker ‘confronts the way we look at the history of slavery, the violence inflicted on Black bodies and the endurance of racist imagery’ (Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus – Look Closer | Tate, n.d.)
Reflecting on the use of narratives within the gallery space, I continued to investigate how the visual codes and languages used within artwork itself can create dialogue for contentious subjects and themes through the astute use of allegory.
In my visit to the Tate Modern, I was able to view Fons Americanus, a 40-foot art installation piece by the artist Kara Walker. Through imitating the Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace, Walker ‘inverts the usual function of a memorial and questions narratives around power’. (Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus – Look Closer | Tate, n.d.)
Through the combination of extensive metaphors within Fons Americanus, Walker confronts us with the violent history of Britain’s prominent role in the transatlantic slave trade. Walker ‘confronts the way we look at the history of slavery, the violence inflicted on Black bodies and the endurance of racist imagery’ (Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus – Look Closer | Tate, n.d.)
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