Group Representation in the Art of William Pope.L and Steve McQueen

This past weekend I went to see William Pope’s exhibit, Drawing, Dreaming, Drowning, at the Art Institute here in Chicago. Best known for his work which challenges the idea of cultural identity, the centrepiece of Drawing, Dreaming, Drowning, is an installation titled Relational Painting aka If Black is Beautiful… The ambiguity of the piece’s medium (it contains elements of painting, sculpture, and even some audio components) raises a number of questions regarding the notion of artistic discipline; however, it seems to me that the nature of race is again the artist’s primary thematic concern. The piece’s apparent focal point is a large black tarp that is heavily adorned with drawings, paintings, and collage. This tarp is the most formal aspect of Relational Painting aka If Black is Beautiful, which, expands outward in all directions and does literally invite the viewer to enter into it. Initially, I found this aspect of the work to be suggestive of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, an association that is further heightened by the soundtrack of jungle noises that play from a group of speakers arranged on the floor in front of/within the piece. Subsequently, I was reminded of the Steve McQueen piece Gravesend that just finished playing at the Renaissance society, which, also deals with colonialism and specifically, the degree to which the British Empire is still very much a reality in modern day Africa. Though McQueen does not really explore the themes of beauty and representation, I felt that there were substantial similarities involving the subject matter of Gravesend and Relational Painting aka If Black is Beautiful…; however, what is almost even more interesting are the differences with which the two artists depict themselves in relation to their work. I am unsure of Steve McQueen’s race but, he is originally from England and as a possible consequence of this, the perspective of Gravesend is decidedly third person. In particular, McQueen’s camerawork is static and observational, even during the sequences depicting African workers mining for coltan. In contrast, Pope’s work is both a blatant example of self-representation, as well as, an attempt to synthesize the experiences of the viewer with his own as an African-American, as is evidenced by his invitation to observer to become a part of the art object. Thus, it becomes unclear as to whether the heart of darkness that Pope alludes to belongs to him or the person that has chosen to enter the space of Relational Painting aka If Black is Beautiful… Furthermore, it is made ambiguous as to whether the plain black tarp, obscured by paint and various other components that camouflage its original color, is a reference to Pope’s identification with his own racial heritage, or if it is a more grand statement regarding the nature of what it is to be an African-American.