Can beauty open our hearts to difficult conversations? | Titus Kaphar

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An artwork's color or composition can pull you in — and put you on the path to having important and difficult conversations, says artist Titus Kaphar. In this stunning talk, he reflects on his artistic evolution and takes us on a tour of his career — from "The Jerome Project," which draws on religious icons to examine the US criminal justice system, to "From a Tropical Space," a haunting body of work that centers around Black mothers whose children have disappeared. Kaphar also shares the idea behind NXTHVN, an arts incubator and community for young people in his hometown.

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23 Comments on Can beauty open our hearts to difficult conversations? | Titus Kaphar

  1. “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
    And next year’s words await another voice.”
    ― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

  2. Beauty isn’t about having a pretty face. It’s about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart and a pretty Soul.
    ❤️❤️❤️

  3. The past does not have to be your prison. You have a voice in your destiny. You have a say in your life. You have a choice in the path you take.

  4. Wow! I love how you remove certain characters in your work to emphasize or drive certain points home. It is really powerful and touching. Somehow it just makes me so emotional.
    “I see you. We see you.”

    We all want to be seen, heard… Something.. Just not to be forgotten or overlooked.
    So much wealth in your work. I am sorry you went through that(gallery & police). But wow! The way you are using art to speak out. Not only for yourself but for all who have and will go through the same.

    THERE IS INDEED SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL IN TRUTH TELLING.

    Thank you for this powerful talk.

  5. Your work is beautiful. I will never understand not appreciate how precarious life is for people of colour living in America. I am sorry.

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