Contour of loss, 2020 by Titus Kaphar (From Mafoune Ouattara)

The artifact that I chose between the modernism artifact was “Contour of loss, 2020” by Titus Kaphar who was Black woman who was holding her child that she lost. The meaning of the artifact a black woman who lost her child due to gun violence, environmental violence in American society. Titus Kaphar exposed conceptual basics between the nationalist histories and colonialist legacies and how they are connected to bring cultural, personal identity. Titus Kaphar is a painter, sculptor, filmmaker, and installation artist. By schretting, cutting, stitching, binding and erasing, by subject and support. Titus Kaphar made new rebuilt codes and odalites based on black possibilities. Titus Kaphar is a person who makes his sculptures based on social issues, political concerns, etc (Titus Kaphar 2020). Titus Kaphar. Gagosian. (2020, March 8). Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://gagosian.com/artists/titus-kaphar/

Titus Kaphar decided to paint this sculpture to show to the Americans the violence that black people were facing in the American’s society. The paint of the white part in the sculpture is showing the loss of a woman’s child. Another way the meaning of this sculpture can represent the loss of a woman’s child. It shows how women feel despereted, how they feel lost in their memories, how they feel so much pain in their soul. They can’t imagine the loss of their child by gun violence, and the environmental violence in American society (Dafoe, 2020). Dafoe, T. (2020, June 4). Artist Titus Kaphar painted a black mother with the silhouette of a child for the cover of Time Magazine’s protest issue. Artnet News. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://news.artnet.com/art-world/titus-kaphar-time-magazine-george-floyd-1878975

All of this happened after George Floyer’s death because George Floyer death give Titus Kaphar an idea about discrimination, violence based on the Black community. This whole scene gives him inspiration on how he can include this gun violence, racism based on Black in his art and how he can illustrate these big issues in his painting. 

The reason why I chose this object is because I thought it’s connected to modernism. Additionally, he was talking about the racism that Black people were facing by police in our society. Without these problems, he could not obtain in-depth information that could raise racism in the black community from the police department. Plus, these issues it’s related to the loss of a woman’s child, and we can see how they feel after losing their child. That’s why I chose this artifact to work with it.