CHRIS OFILI Another contemporary artist who has explored
his ethnic and racial heritage in his art is Chris Ofili(b. 1968). One
theme Ofili has treated is religion, interpreted through the eyes of a
British-born Catholic of Nigerian descent. Ofili’s The Holy Virgin
Mary (FIG. 36-44) depicts Mary in a manner that departs radically
from conventional Renaissance representations. Ofili’s work presents
the Virgin in simplified form, and she appears to float in an indeter-
minate space. The artist employed brightly colored pigments, applied
to the canvas in multiple layers of beadlike dots (inspired by images
from ancient caves in Zimbabwe). Surrounding the Virgin are tiny
images of genitalia and buttocks cut from pornographic magazines,
which, to the artist, parallel the putti that often surround Mary in Re-
naissance paintings. Another reference to Ofili’s African heritage sur-
faces in the clumps of elephant dung—one attached to the Virgin’s
breast, and two more on which the canvas rests, serving as supports.
The dung allowed Ofili to incorporate Africa into his work in a literal
way. Still, he wants the viewer to move beyond the cultural associa-
tions of the materials and see those materials in new ways.
Not surprisingly,The Holy Virgin Mary has elicited strong reac-
tions. Its inclusion in Sensationat the Brooklyn Museum in 1999
prompted indignant demands for cancellation of the show and
countercharges of censorship (see “Public Funding of Controversial
Art,” page 996).
DAVID HAMMONS Nurturing viewer introspection is the
driving force behind the art ofDavid Hammons(b. 1943). In his
installations (artworks creating an artistic environment in a room or
gallery), he combines sharp social commentary with beguiling sen-
sory elements to push viewers to confront racism in American soci-
ety. He created Public Enemy (FIG. 36-45) for an exhibition at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1991. Hammons enticed
viewers to interact with the installation by scattering fragrant au-
tumn leaves on the floor and positioning helium-filled balloons
throughout the gallery. The leaves crunched underfoot, and the dan-
gling strings of the balloons gently brushed spectators walking
around the installation. Once drawn into the environment, viewers
encountered the central element in Public Enemy—large black-and-
white photographs of a public monument depicting President
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) triumphantly seated on a horse,
flanked by an African American man and a Native American man,
both appearing in the role of servants. Around the edge of the instal-
lation, circling the photographs of the monument, were piles of
sandbags with both real and toy guns propped on top, aimed at the
statue. By selecting evocative found objects and presenting them in a
dynamic manner that encouraged viewer interaction, Hammons at-
tracted an audience and then revealed the racism embedded in re-
ceived cultural heritage. In this way, he prompted reexamination of
American values and cultural emblems.
JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITHAnother contemporary
artist who has explored the politics of identity is Jaune Quick-to-
See Smith(b. 1940), a Native American artist descended from the
Shoshone, the Salish, and the Cree tribes and raised on the Flatrock
Reservation in Montana. Quick-to-See Smith’s native heritage has
always informed her art, and her concern about the invisibility of
Native American artists has led her to organize exhibitions of their
art. Yet she has acknowledged a wide range of influences, including
“pictogram forms from Europe, the Amur [the river between Russia
and China], the Americas; color from beadwork, parfleches [hide
cases], the landscape; paint application from Cobra art, New York
expressionism, primitive art; composition from Kandinsky, Klee or
Byzantine art.”^29 She has even compared her use of tribal images to
that of the Abstract Expressionists.
Despite the myriad references and visual material in Quick-to-See
Smith’s art, her work displays coherence and power, and, like many
other artists who have explored issues associated with identity, shePainting and Sculpture since 1970 99736-45David Hammons,
Public Enemy,installation at
Museum of Modern Art, New
York, 1991. Photographs,
balloons, sandbags, guns, and
other mixed media.
Hammons intended this multi-
media installation, with Theodore
Roosevelt flanked by an African
American and a Native American
as servants, to reveal the racism
embedded in America’s cultural
heritage.