The works of African American authors and artists are too often interpreted through the lens of authenticity. They are scrutinized for "positive" or "negative" representations of Black people and Black culture or are assumed to communicate some truth about Black identity or the &...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben

1. Verfasser:	Brooks, John 1989- (VerfasserIn)
Format:	Elektronisch E-Book
Sprache:	English
Veröffentlicht:	New York, NY Columbia University Press [2022]
Schriftenreihe:	Literature Now
Schlagworte:	LITERARY CRITICISM / American / African-American African American art > 21st century African Americans in art African Americans in literature African Americans > Intellectual life > 21st century African Americans > Race identity American literature > African American authors > History and criticism Race in art Race in literature
Online-Zugang:	BSB01 FHA01 Volltext
Zusammenfassung:	The works of African American authors and artists are too often interpreted through the lens of authenticity. They are scrutinized for "positive" or "negative" representations of Black people and Black culture or are assumed to communicate some truth about Black identity or the "Black experience." However, many contemporary Black artists are creating works that cannot be slotted into such categories. Their art resists interpretation in terms of conventional racial discourse; instead, they embrace opacity, uncertainty, and illegibility.John Brooks examines a range of abstractionist, experimental, and genre-defying works by Black writers and artists that challenge how audiences perceive and imagine race. He argues that literature and visual art that exceed the confines of familiar conceptions of Black identity can upend received ideas about race and difference. Considering photography by Roy DeCarava, installation art by Kara Walker, novels by Percival Everett and Paul Beatty, drama by Suzan-Lori Parks, and poetry by Robin Coste Lewis, Brooks pinpoints a shared aesthetic sensibility. In their works, the devices that typically make race feel familiar are instead used to estrange cultural assumptions about race. Brooks contends that when artists confound expectations about racial representation, the resulting disorientation reveals the incoherence of racial ideologies. By showing how contemporary literature and art ask audiences to question what they think they know about race, The Racial Unfamiliar offers a new way to understand African American cultural production
Beschreibung:	1 Online-Ressource
ISBN:	9780231555807
DOI:	10.7312/broo20502