Conspicuous Fraud Series 2001

Editor: We're looking at "Conspicuous Fraud Series," a 2001 acrylic on canvas by Kehinde Wiley. The figure's poised elegance strikes me, especially juxtaposed against what feels like almost cartoonish hair. What do you make of it? Curator: The hair, presented like that, evokes a certain power. Throughout history, hair has carried symbolic weight, think Samson’s strength, or even the dreadlocks in Rastafarianism signifying rebellion. How does this afro, towering above a business suit, contribute to a dialogue around identity and power? Editor: I hadn't considered it like that. It makes me wonder about this 'conspicuous fraud'—is he embodying a role, or subverting expectations? Curator: Wiley often plays with that ambiguity. He's drawing from a history of portraiture, especially the European tradition, but replaces the typical subjects with young Black men. What do you think he's trying to say by placing this figure within that canon, particularly given the "fraud" in the title? Editor: Maybe it's about questioning who gets to occupy positions of power, and what they have to do to get there. It seems like he's pointing to a performance, or perhaps a mask. Curator: Precisely! And the mask isn't necessarily negative. Think about masking traditions across African cultures. Is this fraudulence a form of survival, a conscious manipulation of perception? Or a critique of the art world? Editor: This completely reframes my understanding of the piece. Now I see the ‘fraud’ less as deceit and more as a negotiation of identity within societal constructs. Thank you. Curator: It's about the stories we tell, the symbols we use, and how those resonate, shift, and sometimes collide across time. It’s always rewarding to unpack those layers.