Kerry James Marshall
(c)image: M HKA
The man in Dark and Handsome is partially enclosed by a circle of points of light that reflect upon his face.
Dark and Lovely and Dark and Handsome comprise a couple. Dark and Lovely is also the name of a haircare product. For long in Western history, the notion 'Black and beautiful' was taken as a contradiction in terms. Just think of the 'darker' photo models who emerged at a particular moment in the fashion world. In the Black community there was, and still is in some respects, a sort of reaction against the idea that someone very dark can also be very beautiful and attractive. One of the reasons why he made Dark and Handsome as accompaniment to Dark and Lovely was to put forward the idea that "just as Blackness is apparent, their beauty can also be apparent in their Blackness.”
The little stars, the little lights - which move in a particular way around the man's face - are sorts of points of luster where you see the glaze and the sparkle, a reference to a kind of glossy beauty. That is also what these paintings represent: a twinkling, glittering beauty.
