the Academy 2012

Kerry James Marshall made 'The Academy' with paint, most likely acrylic, and canvas, though I can't tell you when. There's a figure posing on a plinth like a classical sculpture. Except they're not marble. The artist has painted the figure in a black so deep, it flattens out the form, but the subtle gradations imply a volume. The backdrop is pure theatre—swathes of fabric like you might find in a studio. Look at the floor; it's all scumbled greys with dark, gestural brushstrokes that might be read as dirt, or shadows, or just signs of the artist at work. That off-white rope? It hangs dead center, dividing the composition. It's a single painted line, and the artist has allowed the drips to run. It is both the thing it represents, and itself: paint on canvas. It is these moments of doubt and play that make me want to spend time with an artwork. For me, painting is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time.