>> MY INSPIRATION COMES FROM MY EXISTENCE AS A BLACK MALE IN SOCIETY.

I HAVE A CERTAIN VIEWPOINT OF THE WORLD THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME.

AND I'M GOING THROUGH A LOT OF PROCESSES OF UNLEARNING THE THINGS THAT I LEARNED THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.

I THINK THAT, TO BE BETTER HUMANS, WE HAVE TO BEGIN TO UNLEARN.

FOR ME, MY ART WORK IS ALWAYS A PROCESS OF LIKE ASKING THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE HARD FOR ME TO ANSWER.

AND THEN ALSO, TRYING TO POSE THOSE QUESTIONS TO SOCIETY TO SEE IF I'M ALONE IN THIS PURSUIT OR AM I ON THE RIGHT TRACK WHEN IT COMES TO HOW I'M THINKING ABOUT THIS.

SOMETIMES I GET IT RIGHT.

SOMETIMES I DON'T.

THIS BODY OF WORK IS A GROUP OF PAINTINGS CALLED IDOL.

THEY ARE A SERIES OF APPROPRIATED PULP FICTION NOVEL COVERS FROM THE 1950s ALL THE WAY TO LATE '60s, EARLY '70s.

[ MUSIC ] >> I TOOK THOSE COVERS THAT ORIGINALLY HAD WHITE ON THE COVER AND REPLACED THEM WITH WOMEN OF COLOR WHO I KNEW AND ALSO SOME THAT I DON'T KNOW TO TRY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE SEE BLACK WOMANHOOD WITHIN SOCIETY AND WHOSE GAZE IS THE BLACK WOMAN FOR WHEN IT COMES TO BEING ON DISPLAY IN THIS TYPE OF WAY.

MOST OF THESE COVERS KIND OF COVER ISSUES OF ROMANCE, OF RELATIONSHIPS, BUT THEY ALSO WERE LIKE THESE PROPAGANDA TALES TO KEEP YOU AWAY FROM THE, YOU KNOW, HARLEQUIN WOMEN, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP YOU AWAY FROM THE JEZEBELS OF THE WORLD.

AND I THINK THAT THAT FRAMING OF MISOGYNY IS KIND OF WHAT I WAS INJECTED WITH AS A YOUNG MAN.

MOST OF THE TIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CREATIVE ARTS AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PAINTINGS IN GENERAL, WE ARE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT HOW ARCHIVABLE THEY ARE, WHAT THEY'RE WORTH AND HOW YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO SELL THEM.

SO WHEN PEOPLE SEE THESE FRAIL PAINTINGS THAT ARE ON PAPER, ONE OF THE MAIN QUESTIONS I GET IS HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SELL THESE?

WELL, I NEVER INTENDED TO SELL THESE UNTIL THEY'VE HAD THEIR LIFE SPAN.

SO WENT TO GRAD SCHOOL.

I CREATED A BODY OF WORK THAT WAS SOLELY FOR NOT BEING IN THE ARCHIVE.

THIS IS GOING TO BE WORK THAT ACTUALLY HAS A LIFE SPAN, THAT ACTUALLY GOES THROUGH THINGS, THAT ACTUALLY GETS BEAT UP, BENT, YOU KNOW, PUNCTURED.

AND THEN AT THE TAIL END OF IT, WHICH WOULD BE TEN YEARS THIS YEAR, THEN I WILL TRY TO TAKE WHAT IS LEFT OF THE ART WORK AND TURN IT INTO SOMETHING THAT IS ARCHIVABLE FOR PEOPLE TO POSSIBLE PURCHASE.

SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS ART WORK WAS CREATED WITH OUR GAZE OF HOW WE SEE WOMEN, LIKE BLACK WOMANHOOD AND WE THINK ABOUT WHAT BLACK WOMEN HAVE TO GO THROUGH IN SOCIETY, IT IS AN ALLEGORY FOR OUR LIVES AS WELL, DRIVING THROUGH ALL THESE DIFFERENT BENDS, TWISTS AND TURNS AND CRUMBING BY SOCIETAL NORMS AND THE BOXES WE PUT THEM IN ALL THE TIME.

NOW, IS SHE WORTH SOMETHING?

IS SHE STILL IMPORTANT TO YOU, EVEN THOUGH SHE'S BEEN THROUGH SOMETHING AND HAD A LIFE SPAN THAT HAS A HISTORY TO IT.

SO IS THERE STILL BEAUTY THERE?

I THINK THAT THAT CREATES A LARGER CONVERSATION FOR THE WORK AND ALLOWS FOR US TO ENGAGE IN IT IN A WAY WHERE THIS WORK IS UNIQUELY ARCHIVED IN A WAY.

IT'S HAD NINE DIFFERENT PROVOCATIONS SINCE I PUT THE WORK UP IN PHILADELPHIA IN 2013.

AND NOW THAT WE ARE TEN YEARS AND BEYOND, WE NOW CAN START TO SEE THESE CHARACTERS.

THEY'RE STILL IN, BUT KIND OF A NEW STORY IS BEGINNING.

SO WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT SAYS TOO BLACK FOR HEAVEN, THE ORIGINAL BLACK WAS BEING TOO BAD, BEING A BAD WOMAN.

BUT BEING TOO BLACK, IF YOU EQUAL BAD TO BLACK AND THERE IS A BLACK WOMAN ON THE COVER, IT HAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT CULTURE CONTEXT NOW.

SO THAT'S WHERE I'M STARTING TO TOY WITH THE TYPE AND TEXT OF THE COVERS TO BUILD OUT THIS IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE WERE ORIGINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT JUST WOMEN IN GENERAL.

AND WHEN WE PLACE THESE THOUGHTS INTO A CULTURE CONTEXT AND WE START TO THINK ABOUT THINGS IN A MORE INTERSECTIONAL WAY, THEN WE CAN HAVE LIKE LARGER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW THOSE ORIGINAL THOUGHTS THAT WERE MADE FOR A CERTAIN GROUP OF PEOPLE KIND OF PERPETUATE THEMSELVES THROUGH DIFFERENT CULTURES AND SUBCULTURES THAT WE EXIST IN TODAY.

[ MUSIC ] >> I WOULD SAY THE MOST REWARDING THING FOR ME IS THE SHARE-OUT.

IT'S THE EXCHANGE.

I'M JUST IN PARTICIPATION WITH THE EXCHANGE.

THAT'S THE BEST PART.

WE MAKE THE THINGS, AND PEOPLE COME SEE THE THINGS.

AND WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THOSE THINGS, OR WE SHARE IN THE ENERGY OF THOSE THINGS.

AND SOMETIMES WORDS DON'T NEED TO BE SAID.

SOMETIMES EXPLANATIONS DON'T NEED TO BE GIVEN.

SOMETIMES IT IS TAKING IT IN AND SEEING PEOPLE TAKE IN THE WORK.

THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE, MOST GRATIFYING PARTS, SEEING PEOPLE TAKE IN THE WORK AND SAY, WOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS AFFECTING ME RIGHT NOW.

AND I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY LIKE HOW OR WHY, BUT IT MAKES ME FEEL A CERTAIN TYPE OF WAY.

AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE BEST PART OF BEING AN ARTIST, JUST MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE ENGAGING IN THE EXCHANGE WITH THE PEOPLE.