Bearing Witness

THE ARTIST PERSPECTIVE ON PROGRESS

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THE U.S. HAS A LONG history of police brutality against Black and brown people. But in the early 2010s, as camera phones and social media became more ubiquitous, images of this violence spread across the country and around the world. These visuals were essential in starting conversations and in launching the global Black Lives Matter movement. Crucially, they also highlighted the systemic abuse of Black bodies, which have all too often been reduced to symbols of crime, death, and hatred, further perpetuating harmful stereotypes. In the wake of the tragic losses of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown Jr., Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and others, artists have looked for ways to spotlight humanity that is frequently overlooked and to awaken compassion in society at large. Here, we present six carefully selected pieces that touch upon the climate of racial injustice in the U.S. In one, artist Carrie Mae Weems presents a stark image of her hometown of Portland, Ore., during a protest; in another, photographer Mikael Owunna presents an iridescent man in motion as a way of capturing the “boundless possibility of Black life.” We asked each of the artists to reflect on their work and share how their perspective has changed in the years since they created it.

Carrie Mae Weems