#i really love it though. the reflection on the forehead being starburst shaped. the bright geometric background to highlight the figure

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The Actor Hezekiah Washington As Julian Carlton, Taliesin Murder Of Frank Lloyd Wright Family - Kerry James Marshall (2009)

"Kerry James Marshall is known for his arresting paintings featuring Black men and women done in an unapologetic, dark hue, calling to attention to ubiquity of White People depicted throughout Art History (and subsequent rarity of Black representation). Menacing in its gaze, He paints us a portrait of an angry, troubled man. The man is Julian Carlton, a hired hand for architect Frank Lloyd Wright who ended up murdering 7 people (including Wright's lover and her two children) and burned the house down. Yet, Marshall keeps us at a distance by not portraying Carlton himself but instead showing actor Hezekiah Washington (an imaginary character). Though Carlton readily admitted responsibility for the murders, he kept his motives secret. By having an actor portray Carlton, an imaginary actor no less, Marshall plays with the concept of concealment, obscurity, and invisibility in a subtle way. The Actor Hezekiah Washington as Julian Carlton, Taliesen Murderer Of Frank Lloyd Wright Family confronts the public often obsessive interest in morbid tragedy while also keeping the viewer at arms length, the subject's hardened gaze betraying no secrets." - u/AMartyrsSympathy

"Washington's jacket buttons resembles medicine capsules. They point to the traffic colored lights. The hand cuffs also bare semi circles resembling the bright ones. His shape repetition is simplified and strong for me. The cuffs and collar feel slavery like in pronounced scale and position." - u/aurora_amphorea