The moment you introduce difference into a museum, then the privileged space is contested, and under the most ideal circumstances what all artists want is the chance to be competitive. That's what I think the museum is supposed to be. Kerry James Marshall More Quotes by Kerry James Marshall More Quotes From Kerry James Marshall I try to make work about things that matter. Kerry James Marshall try things matter work There's this idea that many of the attitudes and personality developments in black folks in the diaspora are a consequence of this unresolved trauma. There have been attempts by black artists to try and figure out how to represent that in some kind of way. Kerry James Marshall try black personality way Progress has always been understood to be driven by exceptional white men. Whether it's the military victories we've achieved, the philosophical foundations that are the underpinnings of the nation, or our economic ingenuity, all this has been articulated through narratives of exceptional white men. Kerry James Marshall nation progress white men For black people, everything we do has to be ratified and endorsed by a power structure that is white. And that reinforces a kind of racial hierarchy where whiteness is the privileged position to be in, and ethnicity is problematic. Kerry James Marshall black power white people The National Gallery is the place that means to represent everything that's good and important in art and show what it believes everyone who is a citizen should recognize and engage. Kerry James Marshall place good important art My dream was always to be in museums. It's a big and important milestone and a fulfillment of one of my primary ambitions. Kerry James Marshall big always important dream Paintings don't just happen. I am not a proponent of the idea of an artist as someone who kind of magically makes things and has no real control or isn't willfully producing a certain kind of thing. It is labor-intensive, and it is research-intensive. You are making one decision after another, trying to get at something you think is important. Kerry James Marshall i-am think you decision There are fewer representations of black figures in the historical record. Kerry James Marshall record black figures historical What you're trying to create is a certain kind of an indispensable presence, where your position in the narrative is not contingent on whether somebody likes you, or somebody knows you, or somebody's a friend, or somebody's being generous to you. Kerry James Marshall your friend you trying I see myself as having fulfilled a lot of my ambition. All the things I dreamed of achieving, I've achieved for the most part. Kerry James Marshall things see myself ambition My ambition was never to make a lot of money. It wasn't to travel around the world. I was really just struggling to make the best pictures I could make. Kerry James Marshall best money world travel I think the only value of being in school is that everything you do should be a problem that needs to be solved. Everything should be a challenge. Kerry James Marshall challenge value you school
