The Politics of Representation: Reconstructing Power and Privilege Through Art

Abstract

This chapter situates the artistic practices of two contemporary artists, Kehinde Wiley (African American) and Carmen Lomas Garza (Mexican American/Chicana), who (re)construct power and privilege by (re)presenting and honoring people of color in their art. Critical Race Theory is utilized to examine how their efforts to counter elitist and exclusionary practices of the past can serve as exemplars for K-16 educators seeking to create instructional spaces, where students “become subjects in the instructional process, not mere objects” (Ladson-Billings, 2014, p. 76).