From the absurd and blatant to the subtle and subversive,
Hebru Brantley’s work explores the stereotypes and racist
propaganda found in American mass media, such as early
Warner Brothers and Disney cartoons. What emerges is an
intelligent and vivid deconstruction of America’s social history
and the chilling possibility that we have all in someway been
infected by the same subliminal, racially insensitive media virus.
Brantley’s subjects are often cinematic, gleaned from
“Blaxploitation” films and science fiction thrillers. His spraypainted
and stylistically brushed canvases show the influence of
Romare Bearden, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and
Black Folk Art. The raw emotion and youthful expression in
Brantley's work depicts themes of race like an open unhealed
wound. The characters in Brantley's art, such as his “Coon
Toons” series, reveal our shared past co-mingling with our
present consciousness and sensitivities.
How should we deal with our racial history and all the artifacts
that come along with it? Do we bury the offending materials and pretend it never existed or do we
inject the materials into the ongoing public dialogue about race and racism in America? These
questions serve as both impetus and fodder for Brantley’s work. The magic and mythology of
childhood animation meets a fitting analysis, through a young artist whose critical eye dismantles
the soft power of this “entertainment.”
