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RISDM 2018-107-5.jpg

Nicole Buchanan, DG 14, 2015. Gift of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.

Introduction

Defying the Shadow

November 21, 2020 - June 6, 2021

Defying the Shadow presents images by Black artists and of Black figures that resist the consumptive impulses of looking. As anti-portraits or visages that challenge the impulse to be known, comprehended, categorized, or easily identified, these works oppose a historical narrative of dispossession and domination that continues to violate the humanity of Other-ed bodies. By examining how Black subjects operate in and against contemporary political systems—and their constant negotiation of surveillance and the risk of violence—this show considers the defiant body as not only a site of possibility, but also a challenge to authoritative systems of knowing, including the white-supremacist function of the traditional gaze. Beginning with Sojourner Truth’s abolitionist portraits stamped with the slogan “I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance,” these assembled works—ranging from 19th-century photographs to contemporary prints—focus on the appearance of shadows in formal and metaphorical settings.

Curated by Anita N. Bateman, Ph.D.
Former Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow
Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs

RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors. Additional support for Defying the Shadow provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Projects & Publications

Publications

Manual / Issue 14

Shadows
Read Online

Selected Objects

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Kara Walker

The Means to an End...A Shadow Drama in Five Acts, 1995
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Roy DeCarava

Untitled, 1978
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Adrian Piper

Food for the Spirit, 1971
RISDM 2015-54.jpg

Adrian Piper

My Calling (Card) #2 (Reactive Guerilla Performance for Bars and Discos), circulated 1986-present
RISDM 2017-16.jpg

Adrian Piper

My Calling (Card) #1 (Reactive Guerilla Performance for Bars and Discos), circulated 1986-present
RISDM 2014-66-27a.jpg

Howardena Pindell

Autobiography: Past & Present II, 1988-1989
RISDM 2000-117.jpg

Renée Stout

Recurring Damballah Dream, 1999
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Clarence John Laughlin

"MOTHER" Brown, 1945
RISDM 2014-66-31.jpg

Faith Ringgold

Under the Blood Red Sky, 2007
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Toyin Ojih Odutola

Last Portrait of the 18th Marquess, 2018
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Romare Howard Bearden

Ritual, ca. 1965
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Ming Smith

Romare Bearden, New York, NY, 1977, 1977, printed ca. 1991
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Kerry James Marshall

Frankenstein, 2010
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Kerry James Marshall

Bride of Frankenstein, 2010
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Aïda Muluneh

Age of Anxiety, 2016
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Kelly Taylor Mitchell

Untitled, 2017
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Carrie Mae Weems

When and Where I Enter, The British Museum, 2007
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Fred Wilson

X, 2005
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David Hammons

Untitled (Body Print), 1974
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Lorna Simpson, printmaker

Counting, 1991
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Paul Meleschnig

Untitled, 2000, printed 2012
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Glenn Ligon

Untitled, 2003
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Aaron Douglas

Dance Magic, 1930
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Vincent Smith

Shadows in Harlem, 1965 (printed 1994)
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James Van Der Zee

Nude, Harlem, 1923
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Nicole Buchanan

DG 14, 2015
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Nicole Buchanan

IN 08, 2015
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Calvin Burnett

Sojourna Truth, 1964
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American

Hazel's Birthday Party, Age 21, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1940s
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American

Rabbits Maybe, ca. 1950
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American

Untitled, ca. 1970s
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American

Untitled, c. 1950s
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American

Untitled, ca.1940s-1950s
RISDM 2018-61-11.jpg

American

Untitled, 1954
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American

Untitled, ca. 1960s
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American

Untitled, ca. 1950s-1960s
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American

Untitled, ca. 1948-1960
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American

Untitled, ca.1950s-1960s
RISDM 2018-61-16.jpg

American

Untitled, 1950s
RISDM 2018-61-17.jpg

American

Untitled, ca. 1960
RISDM 2018-61-18.jpg

American

Untitled, ca. 1940s-1960s
RISDM 2018-61-2.jpg

American

Untitled, ca. 1940s
RISDM 2018-61-21.jpg

American

Untitled, ca.1940s
RISDM 2018-61-22.jpg

American

The Last Dress, ca.1940s
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American

Untitled, ca. 1930s-1940s
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American

Untitled, 1958
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American

Untitled, ca.1950s
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American

The Rainbow Ballroom, ca.1940s
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American

Untitled, ca.1930-1935
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American

Untitled, 1939
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American

Untitled, ca.1940s
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American

Untitled, ca.1930s
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American

Untitled, 1929
RISDM 2018-61-44.jpg

American

Untitled, ca. 1920s-1930s
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American

Untitled, 1957
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American

Untitled, ca. mid 1940s
RISDM 2018-61-56.jpg

American

Untitled, ca. mid 1900s
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American

Untitled, ca. 1940s
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American

Untitled, ca. 1940s
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American

Untitled, 1946
RISDM 2018-61-62.jpg

American

Untitled, ca. late 1930s-early 1940s
RISDM 2018-61-63.jpg

American

Doris Hollingswoth, Bill Keyes, The Moore Girls..., ca. late 1950s-early 1960s
RISDM 2018-61-72.jpg

American

Untitled, 1956
RISDM 2018-61-73.jpg

American

Untitled, ca.mid 1930s
RISDM 2018-61-77.jpg

American

Untitled, ca. late 1940s-1950s
RISDM 2018-61-81.jpg

American

Untitled, 1954
RISDM 2018-61-82.jpg

American

Untitled, ca. 1940s
RISDM 2018-61-83.jpg

American

Some Kids, ca. mid 1950s-1960s
RISDM 2018-61-84.jpg

American

Untitled, 1954
RISDM 2018-61-85.jpg

American

Michelle, Cliff, Connie, and Donnie, 1971
RISDM 2018-61-86.jpg

American

Untitled, ca.1970s
RISDM 2018-61-87.jpg

American

Untitled, ca.1960s
RISDM 2018-61-88.jpg

American

Untitled, 1959
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American

Untitled, 1973
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Studio Fredericks & O'Neil, photographer

Portrait of a Black Woman, 1860
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American

I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance, Sojourner Truth, 1864
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Gordon Parks

Selwyn, 42nd Street, New York, 1955

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Defying the Shadow

November 21, 2020 - June 6, 2021
View Checklist PDF

RISD Museum

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