TranscriptKaty: Situated in the sculpture garden at the de Young museum, this is Heights I by Rose B. Simpson: an androgynous human figure who stands tall and alludes to the idea of profound spiritual growth. Through its antenna, the figure appears taller, yes in height but also in knowledge — as if it’s showing us an extension of wisdom that grows…

Transcript:My name’s Michael Mel. I’m from the Mogei community in Mount Hagan.What you see in that image is obviously a warrior from my area in the Western Highlands Province of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. When this image was taken, it would’ve been taken at a cultural show or festival, and a group of them would’ve been asked to perform. The…

In Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom (2013–present), an opera singer approaches visitors and invites them to be serenaded with a song selected from Franz Schubert’s lieder (songs written for one voice). Lee Mingwei listened to these songs with his mother while caring for her after heart surgery in 2012, as she used to sing them to him as a child. Listen …

In Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom (2013–present), an opera singer approaches visitors and invites them to be serenaded with a song selected from Franz Schubert’s lieder (songs written for one voice). Lee Mingwei listened to these songs with his mother while caring for her after heart surgery in 2012, as she used to sing them to him as a child. Listen …

In Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom (2013–present), an opera singer approaches visitors and invites them to be serenaded with a song selected from Franz Schubert’s lieder (songs written for one voice). Lee Mingwei listened to these songs with his mother while caring for her after heart surgery in 2012, as she used to sing them to him as a child. Listen …

In Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom (2013–present), an opera singer approaches visitors and invites them to be serenaded with a song selected from Franz Schubert’s lieder (songs written for one voice). Lee Mingwei listened to these songs with his mother while caring for her after heart surgery in 2012, as she used to sing them to him as a child. Listen …

In Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom (2013–present), an opera singer approaches visitors and invites them to be serenaded with a song selected from Franz Schubert’s lieder (songs written for one voice). Lee Mingwei listened to these songs with his mother while caring for her after heart surgery in 2012, as she used to sing them to him as a child. Listen …

Transcript Hello everyone and welcome to Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Without Men. My name is Katy Hessel. I am an art historian from London, and I’ve made it my mission in life to celebrate the work of women artists. You may know me from my Instagram and podcast called The Great Women Artists, or my book: The Story of Art Without Men. Now, I…

TranscriptThis giant 3-meter-high tapestry of a man in a flamboyant suit combines African American quilting traditions with contemporary designer labels. His gaze meets ours with poise and nobility.Bisa Butler’s work starts with an image. Earlier on in her career, it was portraits of people she knew, but recently it’s been images of Black sitters s…

TranscriptThis sculpture may be smaller than most of the statues and portrait busts in the Legion of Honor’s galleries, but to me, it’s just as powerful. This sculpture was made by Claudel in 1899, at the cusp of a new century. Its title translates to “dreaming by the fireside.” And it’s an introspective work, what Claudel called “sketches from nat…

Transcript Elizabeth Catlett was a trailblazer. Born in Washington, DC, in 1915, she spent her childhood hearing stories of enslavement and resistance told to her by her grandmother. Fueled by her history and heritage, Catlett dedicated seven decades to a career that saw her sculpt, draw, and print dignified and uplifting portraits of African Ameri…

TranscriptHelen Frankenthaler once described the act of painting as having “the landscape in my arms as I painted it. I like to think this is what we see in Crusades, a giant orange abyss that immerses you from the top to the bottom. Oranges are interspersed with greens, and the reds subtly and silently sail throughout the canvas. Frankenthaler giv…

TranscriptThis is a double-sided drawing by the great Surrealist Leonor Fini. It is a study for a costume design for two characters in the ballet Le Rêve de Léonor, translating to “the dream of Leonor.” The ballet premiered at London's Royal Opera House in 1949. It was inspired by a dream Fini had and was a highly imaginative production.Set to musi…

Transcript“It’s not the medium that counts. It is what you see in it and what you do with it,” said Louise Nevelson. She was one of the most inventive sculptors working in the mid-20th century, and is hailed for her monochromatic, architectural wall sculptures, amassed from recycled objects and painted black, gold, or white. Sky Cathedral's Presenc…

TranscriptThe year is 1791. France is in the throes of the Revolution, and the future of the country is in turmoil. This painting is of a mythological story, but it speaks to the political moment much more than we might at first think. Let’s take a closer look. On the far right we have Psyche, in a white dress, embracing her mother for the very las…

TranscriptI can’t help but be overwhelmed by the energy and dynamism of this painting. Made up of thick impasto, with layers upon layers of reds, yellows, greens, and blues, blazing across the canvas, this work is an explosion of paint. Filled with images that morph in and out of abstraction — like the two red panthers in the foreground — it’s almo…

TranscriptI find this scene of a woman bathing full of intimacy. But also privacy, as if we’ve just stumbled into her space, unsure of whether we should be here or not. The woman’s long, smooth, nude back is turned towards us, while her bottom half is covered in striped cloth — a dress undone, with sleeves dangling by her sides… Her face is conceal…

TranscriptRuth Asawa is somewhat of a legend in San Francisco. Her sculptures, often made collaboratively with local communities, populate street corners, parks and schools. But the de Young museum is where you’ll find the largest collection of her sculptures in the world. Just look at those wired cells cocooning smaller ones, or those radiating ou…

TranscriptNicknamed the Baroness with the Brush, Lempicka was famed for her jazz-age style that fused the meticulousness of the Renaissance with the hard-edges of Art Deco. Her figures are often tightly cropped within the four corners of the frame, and I find they have a metallic quality to them — or perhaps a magic magnetism — drawing you in with …

ABRAM JACKSON: Una arqueología del silencio. Kehinde Wiley dio este nombre a esta escultura monumental y a la propia exposición. Hay mucho que reflexionar aquí. Encuentre un espacio cercano donde pueda estar cómodo por unos minutos, mientras escuchamos al artista y a Hodari Davis:KEHINDE WILEY: La cuestión es utilizar el lenguaje de lo monumental p…

WANDA JOHNSON: Mi nombre es Wanda Johnson. Soy la madre de Oscar Grant, quien fue asesinado el 1 de enero de 2009 en la estación Fruitvale de BART en Oakland, California.ABRAM JACKSON: Aquella noche, Oscar Grant fue baleado por la espalda, asesinado por un oficial de la policía del sistema de transporte rápido BART. Esta escultura, titulada Duelo j…

ABRAM JACKSON: Las flores azules y blancas en la esquina inferior derecha de esta pintura nos dan una pista del motivo de su inspiración. Wiley se inspiró para la pose de esta figura en una pintura de Tiepolo —artista italiano del siglo XVIII— de una historia sacada de la mitología clásica. La obra representa la muerte de Jacinto, un joven mortal q…

ABRAM JACKSON: El punto de partida para esta figura de Wiley fue una tierna y realista representación de una mártir romana cristiana yaciendo sobre su tumba. El artista ha estado por mucho tiempo interesado en experimentar con fondos. Aquí, decidió llenarlo con amapolas. KEHINDE WILEY: Históricamente, los fondos han sido: hombre poderoso sentado en…

ABRAM JACKSON: La joven Tarentine es el título de esta escultura y también el de la enorme pintura ―del tamaño de una gran cartelera― de una mujer que yace entre hojas amarillas y que vimos anteriormente. Puede verse al final de la sala anterior, justo desde donde estamos. La fuente de Wiley para ambas obras fue una escultura de una mujer, del sigl…

KEHINDE WILEY: El origen de esta exposición se dio al tiempo que el mundo se cerraba. Cuando vemos que George Floyd es asesinado en las calles del país me doy a la tarea: empiezo a pensar no solo en ese momento explosivo que provoca al mundo entero pensar en los individuos negros de una manera diferente, sino que comienzo a idear cómo dar imagen a …

ABRAM JACKSON: Aquí, el uso poderoso de luz atrae nuestra atención hacia los párpados y las manos apretadas de este hombre, haciéndonos pensar que estamos ante un intenso sufrimiento o plegaria.CLAUDIA SCHMUCKLI: Wiley emplea una luz penetrante que baña el cuerpo en un aura de santidad que hace eco del tratamiento de lo divino en la pintura europea…

ABRAM JACKSON: Una escultura francesa del siglo XIX de una joven mujer de la mitología; su largo cabello ondea sobre las olas que la ahogaron cuando navegaba para reunirse con su prometido. Este es el origen melancólico de esta obra. Wiley pidió a su modelo que posara de la misma manera y le dio a su pintura el mismo título: La joven Tarentine.En l…

ABRAM JACKSON: El tamaño de esta pintura es casi abrumador (como el de una valla publicitaria), y con toda intención. Los enormes cuadros tradicionalmente muestran a gobernantes o batallas, imágenes que expresan poder. Es en estas enormes carteleras que a menudo se encuentra la comercialización de la cultura negra. Escuchemos a Wiley:KEHINDE WILEY:…

ABRAM JACKSON: Con la mirada baja, su brazo sobre su pierna, este joven personifica la fuerza tranquila, dominio de sí mismo.La obra de Wiley está parcialmente inspirada en una escultura romana de 2000 años de antigüedad. El gálata moribundo representa a un oponente de Átalo I de Pérgamo que luce derrotado y en una pose similar a la obra original, …

KEHINDE WILEY: Este trabajo surge como respuesta directa al asesinato de George Floyd. Durante aquel tiempo, muchos de nosotros tuvimos la oportunidad de reflexionar al respecto y de lamentar esa muerte..Una arqueología del silencio es una arqueología de historias no contadas y de vidas desperdiciadas. Es una historia de los Estados Unidos que trat…

As a material element in the origin story of Black Americans, the ocean, and water more broadly, holds psychic and spiritual dimensions of both suffering and survival. Settle and sink in with artist and writer Angela Hennessy for a restorative meditation returning to the edge of the sea.Angela Hennessy is an Oakland-based artist and survivor of gun…

TranscriptABRAM JACKSON: For many years now, Kehinde Wiley has been diving into western art history for inspiration. He turns it inside out and upside down, shaking out its conventions and symbolism, questioning its purpose. And he forges its elements into something new, resplendent, and completely his own. This figure’s pose echoes an 18th century…

TranscriptABRAM JACKSON: Gazing downward, his arm braced on his leg, this young man embodies quiet strength. Self-possession. It’s partly inspired by a 2000-year-old Roman sculpture. “The Dying Gaul” portrays a fallen opponent of Attalus I of Pergamon in a similar pose, showing composure in the face of death. Wiley re-envisions that sculpture in th…

TranscriptKEHINDE WILEY: This body of work comes as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd. During that time, so many of us had an opportunity to grieve, to reflect. An Archeology of Silence is an archeology of untold stories and lives wasted. It's an American story about brutality and about erasure. My job is to breathe life back into tha…

TranscriptABRAM JACKSON: “An Archaeology of Silence”. Kehinde Wiley gave this title both to this monumental sculpture – and to the exhibition itself. There’s so much to think about here. Find space nearby where you’ll be comfortable for a few minutes, while we hear from the artist and Hodari Davis. KEHINDE WILEY: The point is to use the language of…

TranscriptWANDA JOHNSON: My name is Wanda Johnson. I'm the mother of Oscar Grant that was killed January 1st, 2009, at the Fruitvale BART Station in Oakland, California.ABRAM JACKSON: Oscar Grant was shot in the back and killed by a BART police officer that night. This sculpture, titled “Youth Mourning”, is especially resonant for his mother. WANDA…

TranscriptABRAM JACKSON: The blue and white flowers in the lower right corner of this painting clue us in to its inspiration. Wiley pulled this figure’s pose from a painting of a story from classical mythology. It’s by the 18th century Italian artist, Tiepolo. It portrays the death of Hyacinth, a young mortal transformed into flowers after his deat…

TranscriptABRAM JACKSON: A tender, realistic portrayal of a Roman Christian Martyr dead in her tomb was Wiley’s starting point for this figure. The artist has long been interested in experimenting with backgrounds – here, he’s decided to fill it with poppies. KEHINDE WILEY: Historically, backgrounds have been: powerful man sitting on his land - eve…

TranscriptABRAM JACKSON: “Young Tarentine”. That’s the title of this sculpture – and of the billboard-size painting of a woman lying among yellow leaves that we saw earlier. You can see it all the way down at the end of the previous gallery, right from where we’re standing. Wiley’s source for both pieces was a 19th century sculpture of a woman. But…

ABRAM JACKSON: A 19th century French sculpture of a young woman from mythology, her long hair spreading across the waves that drowned her as she sailed to meet her future husband. That’s the melancholy origin point of this painting. Wiley posed his model in the same way and gave the painting the same title – “Young Tarentine”. But instead of waves,…

TranscriptKEHINDE WILEY: The birth of the show starts as the world shuts down. As we see George Floyd slain in the streets of America, I get to work, I start thinking not only about this explosive moment that triggers the whole world into thinking about Black bodies in a different way, but I start thinking about imaging of bodies slain, historicall…

TranscriptABRAM JACKSON: The scale of this painting is almost overwhelming. Billboard-like. And purposely so. Enormous paintings traditionally featured rulers, battles – images that articulate power. And enormous billboards are where you often find the commercialization of Black culture. Here’s Wiley: KEHINDE WILEY: At the leading edge of American …

TranscriptABRAM JACKSON: The powerful use of light here draws our attention to this man’s lowered eyelids and clasped hands, making us feel we’re in the presence of intense suffering, or prayer. CLAUDIA SCHMUCKLI: Wiley employs a piercing brightness that bathes the body in aura of sacredness, and it echoes the treatment of the divine in European pa…

Niña De Los Peines (Sevilla, 1890–1969) - primaryVictor Talking Machine Company (active Camden, New Jersey, 1901–1929) - publisherFlamenco Record: "Buleria No. 2", "Farruca", 1901–1916Gift from the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, about 1916. U11s7.4Courtesy of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.…

Niña De Los Peines (Sevilla, 1890–1969) - primaryVictor Talking Machine Company (active Camden, New Jersey, 1901–1929) - publisherFlamenco Record: "Buleria No. 2", "Farruca", 1901–1916Gift from the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, about 1916. U11s7.4Courtesy of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.…

Niña De Los Peines (Sevilla, 1890–1969) - primaryVictor Talking Machine Company (active Camden, New Jersey, 1901–1929) - publisherFlamenco Record: "Farruca", "Tarantas", 1901–1916Gift from the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, about 1916. U11s7.12Courtesy of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.…

Niña De Los Peines (Sevilla, 1890–1969) - primaryVictor Talking Machine Company (active Camden, New Jersey, 1901–1929) - publisherFlamenco Record: "Farruca", "Tarantas", 1901–1916Courtesy of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.Gift from the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, about 1916. U11s7.12…

Niña de los Peines (Sevilla, 1890–1969)Flamenco Record: "Seguidillas Gitanas", "Sevillanas No. 3", 1901–1916Gift from the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, about 1916. U11s7.6Courtesy of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.By Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Juan Breva (Málaga, 1844–1918) - primaryVictor Talking Machine Company (active Camden, New Jersey, 1901–1929) - publisherFlamenco Record: "Fandanguillos", "Verdiales", 1901–1916Gift from the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, about 1916. U11s7.3Courtesy of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.…

Juan Breva (Málaga, 1844–1918) - primaryVictor Talking Machine Company (active Camden, New Jersey, 1901–1929) - publisherFlamenco Record: "Fandanguillos", "Verdiales", 1901–1916Gift from the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, about 1916. U11s7.3Courtesy of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.…