Art:21 | Michael Ray Charles

Michael Ray Charles' paintings investigate stereotypes drawn from the history of American advertising, product packaging, billboards, and commercials. Charles draws comparisons between Sambo, Mammy, and minstrel images of an earlier era and contemporary portrayals of black youths, celebrities, and athletes—images he sees as a constant in the American subconscious.
Michael Ray Charles is featured in the Season 1 episode "Consumpsion" of the Art21 series "Art:21 -- Art in the Twenty-First Century".

Learn more about Michael Ray Charles: http://www.art21.org/artists/michael-ray-charles

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Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• contemporary
• art
• artist
• art21
• PBS
• television
• TV
• series
• documentary
• painting
• appropriation
• race
• popular
• culture
• sinage/advertising

[antjuanoden]

Check out 0:18 

[sybercat6]

Perpetuating the stereotypes? Do they even take the time to look at these pieces?

[neo4hp]

Michael Ray Charles rocks! i love this guy and his art!

[zeriatan]

Post-colonialism and Feminism suffer from the same problem in a hysterical way they place blame on the other ie racists, whites, men and so on and miss the trap this creates, in this way the other is always on top, Ray Charles gets it he is ready to attack himself into the bargin the feminists should do this also this is how our ghosts should be exorsised

[lacedout]

I believe Kara Walker's art work is a therapy for her, she needs answers to rid the curiosity, so she brings the subject to YOU. As I said before she is only displaying only a part of our history. You can't be mad at her for showing what used to happen to Black slaves. Can you? No... You are even more of a c*** for being so weak to think that she is a sellout for showing history. What is that about??? I don't care to know....bc you don't educate yourself. This conversation is over.

[lacedout]

In classes, her professors always assumed her projects should target Black identity, but she didn't want to be just another "black student". There was always this curiosity with Kara. Why people think the way they do and why they do what they do. Needless to say she eventually found herself and what she wanted to do. Surprisingly she married a White man , and unfortunately they are divorced with child. She became very, very angry and even accused of the very same things you might even say...

[lacedout]

Kara Walker was from California, her father from Georgia. He used to visit Georgia frequently, and when he returned home he would always tell Kara about horror stories of living in the South. This is where her fear and curiosity of racism began. Her father took a job at a college in Georgia, and later she attended the ACA. She while in school she worked at a book store and she enjoyed the reaction from people after reading a good book. This is probably why Kara's art looks like a story book.

[blackberryjuice1]

I do not argue with non-white people who don't see how they're being used by white supremacists. This conversation is over.

[lacedout]

LoL! I SAID pick up a book and read about Kara Walker. I didn't suggest anything about indoctrinating yourself with other black cheerleaders...or whatever. Educate yourself misinformed black man. Since when did educating yourself turn into supporting black degradation. If you want to protest black degradation...what about more serious matters?????? Probably because this subject is too easy for you.

[blackberryjuice1]

Oh, you mean indoctrinate myself with other black cheerleaders of black degradation funded by white institutions such as Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw?