“Somewhere in America” the exhibit of work by Oklahoma-based African-American artist Robert Peterson, spoke to my heart.
I’m not an art critic, but I’m a fan of art and try not to miss any exhibits dedicated to the work of Black artists.
The Wichita Art Museum usually treats our community to an exhibition of work by at least one-black artist or artists each year, so I made my way — later than I would have liked to — to see this exhibit.
While “Black art” runs the gamut, what I saw wasn’t anything I was expecting. How could it be, since I’d never seen anything like it before?
Bonita Gooch
I was moved by the enormity and uniqueness of this exhibition. While “Black art” runs the gamut, what I saw wasn’t anything I was expecting. How could it be, since I’d never seen anything like it before?
Instead of depictions of upscale and glamorous Black people in their finest regalia, or historic Black people who reflect a time long ago, or modernistic depictions of Black people that exaggerate our features or style, Peterson’s work depicts Black Americans you can easily find “somewhere in America.”
I recognized these people. These are people I know. They’re not white-lensed depictions of who we are. Peterson knows us and we see us in his work; our features, our clothes, our posture our culture.
Peterson’s depictions of us are above all authentic, which is what makes them so unique. His authenticity, combined with the pure quality of his work, is part of what’s catapulting Peterson as one of the rising stars in America’s art scene
“He seems intent on giving Black Americans the aesthetic treatment they’ve been denied: the treatment of royalty, of saints, of heroes, and of legend,” writes Jeromiah Taylor, a freelance art critic for Wichita online arts magazine “The Shout.”
Peterson’s exhibit is dominated by paintings of Black men, who rarely show up in art. His paintings aren’t of the suited brothers. Instead, he focuses on the “bros.” The ones wearing doo rags, with their pants sagging off their thin but slightly muscled frames.
These are the brothers you can imagine playing pick-up basketball in the park and hanging around later for some Black-male bonding over some 40s or a blunt.
His work also features Black families and even rarer, Black children, another group rarely depicted in art. He also features Black intimacy in a subtle and familiar, not sexual, way.
I found this intimacy especially engaging in two of the exhibit’s pieces. There’s a photo of two Black men, showing affection for each other. It’s unique, because showing physical affection for each other isn’t something you’d expect from Black males. And no, the men aren’t gay.
Another painting that hit me like an arrow, was a photo of a Black couple lazily enjoying time in bed together. Again, the depiction isn’t sexual. It’s intimate, and it made me wish for more times like that, lazing around enjoying the one I love.
Black love is beautiful love and Black people are beautiful just the way we are, and Peterson’s exhibit reminds us of that with his intricate details that bring you into these pictures that are often so oversized that you’re not allowed to ignore them. And the eyes – yes, the eyes – staring right at you, connecting with you in an oh-so-familiar way.
This is Peterson’s first major museum exhibit and it’s curated by the Wichita Art Museum. The museum so believes in Peterson and his work that they’ve reached an agreement with Peterson to send the exhibit on a two-year tour to museums across the country.
While the museum owns a few Peterson pieces they may display from time-to-time, if you don’t see this exhibit of more than 40 Peterson paintings before it leaves in January, WAM officials say you’ll never see the work in its entirety in Wichita again.
Di you know someone who doesn’t like art or who doesn’t believe art, and especially art in museums, speaks to or represents them? Then this an exhibit you should bring them to as a great holiday treat, a date night excursion, or even a family outing where Black youth can see the grandness, value and beauty of who they are.
Robert Peterson: Somewhere in America
At the Wichita Art Museum thru Jan. 5.
1400 W. Museum Blvd.
Museum hours are Wed. – Sun.: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Fri. nights until 9 p.m.
The exhibit admission price is $12. Free for WAM members, college students with ID, and youth 18 and under.
