Color Polemics
April 30, 2015

Artists: Ayad Alkadhi, Chiraag Bhakta/ *Pardon My Hindi, David Antonio Cruz, Derrick Adams, Hank Willis Thomas, Himanshu Suri, JC Lenochan, Kameelah Rasheed, Kara Walker, Laura Kina, Lunar New Year, Mark Hewko, Nick Kline, Nina Chanel Abney, Nyugen Smith, Richard Barnes, Tomie Arai, Travis Somerville.

Color Polemics: Unpacking the Movement Towards Racial Equality and Identity in America was an exhibition inspired by two important works from American art history: Norman Rockwell’s commemorative painting of Ruby Bridges, The Problem We All Live With (1964), and Jacob Lawrence’s The Great Migration series (1940-1941). Dating two periods in both the pre and post period of racial desegregation, the featured works illustrated a shift in American race relations and set the stage for a larger progressive commentary on the subject.  

Color Polemics dealt with similar issues of socio-cultural integration within modern society across the United States. Works in the exhibition examined both the fictitious discord and harmonious outcomes of racial politics in the United States. It was too often exhibitions addressed issues of racial politics focused on the negative fallouts of the issue; this exhibition, by contrast, took a nonpartisan stance and tried to examine all aspects of the issue.

Color Polemics featured some of the greatest cultural practitioners in American art.

This exhibition was part of a larger four-part exhibition series called Visualizing OUR Americana that explored contemporary social issues through a critical visual lense. The exhibition did not include “artifacts,” instead it presented contemporary work that explored the larger themes that pertain to the concept of American culture. Each exhibition was inspired by a popular work of art from American Art History that had effectively become works of “Americana'' in and of themselves. The purpose of the series was not only to examine these issues, but also to highlight the positive aspects of diversity that directly correlated with each topic. Other exhibitions in the series, appearing in Fall 2015, Spring 2016, and Fall 2016, addressed issues such as female empowerment, urbanity, and LGBTQIA equality. Each exhibition was inspired by a seminal artist or piece from American art history that changed the landscape of both art and social activism.