The sound of Sampha's vocals over piano keys, Lupe Fiasco called it sacred geometry, and Mos Def made it simple mathematics. Beyoncé called it Lemonade and earned millions. The art of expression that combined truths about the systematically arranged set of laws of our culture, or the knowledge we've gained about our own mortality; science. By the fruits of their labor, black artists have explored these truths and shared the intricate details of the past, present and future. While we often consider science a field for STEM majors or a headline clip about discovering a new planet, it has also shaped black art as we know it.
These seven artists of multiple disciplines are alchemists, using art informed by science to share interpretations of blackness, society and culture.
1. Jean-Michel Basquiat
Photo: thesquirrelreview.com
Fun fact: Basquiat drew a lot of his inspiration from medical books! Many of his paintings featured bare outlines of the human skeleton or the skull mixed in with Basquiat's poignant humor and cultural references. His famous painting "Untitled Skull" in 1981 and in 1982, draws on this fascination with human anatomy, while commenting on race and culture. Even with his death at just 27, Basquiat has continued to inspire artists to question and even dissect the imperfect science we use to inform our beliefs.
2. Janelle Monae
Photo: pitchfork.com
This electric lady made a splash on the music scene not only because of her style, but the sound of her music. But did you know that she's also a huge science fiction fan? Not only has she expressed being a fan of Octavia Butler, one of the few black female science fiction writers, but her album art for ArchAndroid was inspired by German artist Fritz Lang's silent movie Metropolis. If we look back at albums like ArchAndroid or Metropolis Suite I , we see the mash-up of technology and culture even when Monae decides to drop a single like "Q.U.E.E.N." Consequenceofsound.com called her "Not Your Average Sci-Fi Fan," and I'm inclined to agree. We love Monae because she's sci-fi themed storylines with the jazz, funk and R&B vibes often missing in a pop-dominated music industry.
3. Muhammad Yangai
Photo: muhammadyungai.com
How do artists get people to finally see something? Sometimes they use humor, alter the thing we think we are "seeing" or sometimes they just show us who or what we are missing. Muhammad Yungai chose to utilize the western tradition of portraits to share the image of prominent African American figures like Mae Jamison. Her contributions to the STEM field as both an astronaut, doctor and scientist. Yungai mentions that when he paints a portrait he isn't just painting the person, but he's painting their spirit. With the help of artists like Yungai we can always put a black face to the names of people with tremendous contributions to society.
4. Doreen Garner
Photo: doreengarner.com
You might have seen Doreen Garner's work at HBO's HeLa Project pop-up art show based on The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. While the exhibit gave us a sneak peek into the upcoming HBO movie based on the science nonfiction best-seller, artists like Garner add unique twists and interpretations on the legacy of Henrietta Lacks. But this isn't the first time Doreen Garner has shown that art and science can go hand in hand. Dorner's work, as Wave Hill cultural center put it, "identifies, mines and exploits the tissues that bind the sexual and grosteque—the artist directs an oppositional gaze toward fetish, objectification and racism." Her interpretation of race, gender and sexuality has not only been seen in "Reliquary for Henrietta" featured in HBO's pop up exhibit, but in artwork like "Neo (Plasm)," using how we perceive nature and turning it on its head. She adds an intensity mixed with an aesthetic beauty—like using hair weave, condoms and glitter on the same piece—that causes a good kind of confusion; one where you rethink what you're seeing.
5. Kimberly M. Becoat
Photo: kimberlymbecoat.squarespace.com
When asked about her inspiration for her painting entitled " Soon Henrietta Come Hela" Becoat said, "The importance of Henrietta Lacks goes past being just a woman—she was a black woman." In an in-depth interview, she describes Lacks' legacy along with the idea of ownership. Even as bursts of colors show that Lacks has been at the cornerstone of scientific discovery, the agency that a woman should have over her body was taken away; in this case, it's Lacks' tumor cells without her knowledge. This work of art, in particular, speaks to how science can also be a vehicle for reconnecting with our history.
6. Zoe Buckman
Photo: zoebuckman.com
This London native is known for using her creations to explore ideas of feminism and equality. Provocative, playful and sometimes with a touch of avant-garde, Zoe Buckman interrogates the realities of women. Buckman utilizes the female form as well as the female sex organ to challenge body shaming to making us think deeper about the challenges women face. She's stitched those issues onto clothing in "Every Curve" and her series Mostly It's Just Uncomfortable, also seen at HBO's The HeLa Project, responds to the consistent attacks on Planned Parenthood. Using themes of anatomy and discrimination, Mostly It's Just Uncomfortable features a glowing uterus with boxing gloves and gynecological instruments; each item underscores women's fleeting access to sexual health and how that impacts a woman's agency over her body.
7. Saloma Asega
Photo: Kearra Goppee
Afrofuturism; the wedge between technology, science and history. Afro-futurist artists like Saloma Asega work fast forwards to a time where blackness and its varied expressions have also evolved and changed. Best seen through "Iyapo's Repository" which features artifacts from the future, the museum allows viewers to contemplate the future for people of African descent. Asega's other projects like "POSSESSION" searches deeper into the connection between culture and innovations in technology through researching virtual reality and Caribbean superstition/religion. Best explained as a peek into a black future, Asega creates an alternate reality inspired by asking "what if."
There is no threshold that black art cannot cross. Whether it's thinking light years ahead, exploring now or challenging the status quo, their work is only a microcosm of what we already know. Black artists are the archaeologists, historians and even scientists creating spaces for our voices to live on.
This article is sponsored by the new film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, premiering April 22, 2017, on HBO.
