Kerry James Marshall
(c)image: Smart Museum of Art
In Slow Dance (1992-93) Marshall combines colour planes with different elements and symbols and deviates from classical perspective. A dancing couple stands in the middle of an image filled with colors, patterns, light and music. The interior is replete with a couch, a stereo and flowers, all elements that refer to the middle-class, as well as objects that nod to Black African culture, like a mask, the vase and the carpet. The dancing pair refers to the film Killer of Sheep by Charles Burnett, where there is a moving scene of a dancing couple that made a strong impression upon the artist. Here Marshall creates a space full of layered visual styles and cultural references that circle round the slow dance at the center, though not per se harmonizing with the surroundings.