Artist Titus Kaphar (b. 1976, Kalamazoo, Michigan) reflects on the history of representation of Black Americans in his paintings, sculptures, installations, and films. His art seeks to reveal self-evident truths about our society and to dislodge and amend entrenched narratives. He challenges us to ponder whose lived experiences we consider, whose we forget, and whose we erase.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome II, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Tracey and Phillip Riese.
Object Description
This is a small oil painting on a gilded shield-shaped wooden panel with raised edges. The head of a Black man with walnut-colored skin, compact ears, close-cropped hair, and a thin, light mustache nearly fills the panel, but there is a scant gold-leaf background. With eyes wide, the man is looking directly at us with a blank but serious expression. Light catches his forehead, his cheeks, and the bridge of his ample nose. A thick curtain of black tar hangs across the bottom quarter of the painting, obscuring the area under the man’s lower lip and extending below the bottom of the panel. The tar curtain has a rough surface, flecks of gold, and a ragged bottom edge.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome XVI, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Tracey and Phillip Riese.
Object Description
This is a small oil painting on a gilded shield-shaped wooden panel with slightly raised edges. The head of a relatively young Black man with mediumbrown skin, close-cropped hair with a peak on top, and somewhat projecting ears, nearly fills the panel. Surrounding him is a scant gold-leaf background. His head tilted slightly to our right, the man looks into the distance with soulful eyes. A thick curtain of black tar hangs across the bottom quarter of the painting, obscuring the area under the man’s ample nose and extending below the bottom of the panel. The tar curtain has a rough, crumpled surface, a few flecks of gold, and a ragged bottom edge with pointed downward projections.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome XXVII, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Tracey and Phillip Riese.
Object Description
This is a small oil painting on a gilded shield-shaped wooden panel with slightly raised edges. The head of a Black man with dark brown skin and close-cropped hair (except for one small strand) nearly fills the top half of the panel, but there is a scant gold-leaf background. A thick curtain of black tar hangs across the bottom half of the painting, obscuring the area under the man’s eyebrows, so that we cannot see his eyes or the expression on his face. The tar curtain, which extends below the bottom of the panel, has a rough, crumpled surface, a few flecks of gold, and a ragged bottom edge with pointed downward projections.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome XXII, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Collection of Lonti Ebers.
Object Description
At the center of this oil painting is the face of a Black dark-skinned male set on a shield-shaped panel. The panel is covered in gold leaf and is 10 by 7 inches. This man stares directly at the viewer with down turned brown eyes. He has very short dark hair and a high forehead. He has dark eyebrows, a small mustache, a large nose, and a full upper lip. There is a light source that reflects off his forehead and cheeks. A patch of black tar obscures the lower part of this painting, starting with his lower lip. There are a few small areas where the gold is visible through the tar. The tar has a straight horizontal upper edge and falls in ragged drops below the lower edge of the panel.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome I, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Collection of Noel E. D. Kirnon.
Object Description
This small oil painting on a shield shaped gilded wooden panel with a rounded raised border shows, partially, the head of a Black man. The background is worn, mottled gold leaf with small losses that reveal the red bole underlayer. The lower third of the painting is obscured by a thick curtain of black tar containing irregular flecks of gold leaf. The lower edge of the tar hangs over the frame in a jagged, irregular, torn-looking sheet. The tattered lower edge contrasts with the straight horizontal line forming the upper border. The tar obscures the man’s face below his lower lip. His head is cocked to the viewer’s left. His dark brown eyes meet the viewers in a direct level gaze. Frontal light illuminates his walnut brown skin, creating whitish patches in the center of his unlined forehead, under his deep set brown eyes, and around his broad nose. HIs short, dark brown hair reveals a high forehead, and closely set ears His thin dark mustache outlines a thick cupid’s bow shaped upper lip. His expression is neutral, thoughtful, pensive.
In 2011 Kaphar was coming to terms with the personal history of his estranged father Jerome. His search for information led to his discovery of the prison records and mugshots of ninety-seven other men with the same first and last names as his father. He interviewed them and investigated their personal histories. Painted mostly between 2014-2015, Kaphar created a series of devotional-style portraits of the men, drawing on his considerable knowledge of several centuries of Renaissance and Byzantine religious painting. He painted the panels with gold-leaf backgrounds and then partially submerged them in tanks of tar. Initially, the level of the tar reflected how much of his life each man had spent in prison. Kaphar later abandoned this formula in acknowledgment that the amount of time people are imprisoned is just the beginning of how incarceration impacts their lives. Lingering aftereffects, such as difficulty securing employment and even housing, social silencing, the loss of voting rights, and in some states, loss of access to government assistance, can follow individuals for their entire lives.
The 15 works from the series on view in the Fenway Gallery demonstrate how Kaphar uses portraiture to mark the existence of these men, making us aware of the absence of incarcerated individuals from our national narrative. These men want to be remembered. They want to be seen. And TheJerome Project is saying, “we see you.”
Titus Kaphar, Jerome LXI, 2020. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 19.1 cm (10 x 7 1/2 in.). Private Collection.
Object Description
This small oil painting on a gilded shield-shaped wooden panel shows the upper half of a young Black man’s head. The head nearly fills the panel with the scant gold background done in worn gold leaf. Irregular areas of gilding are missing, revealing patches of the red bole underlayer. The lower section of the painting is obscured by a sheet of thick black tar. The lower edge of the tar curtain hangs over the panel in a jagged, irregular, torn-looking sheet. The tattered lower edge contrasts with the straight, horizontal upper border of the tar. It obscures almost half of the man’s lower face from the end of the bridge of his nose. The man faces the viewer directly. His dark brown hooded eyes meet the viewers in a level penetrating gaze. His short, reddish brown hair and thin, neat eyebrows frame a furrowed brow. His ears are large, fleshy and protrude slightly.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome XIX, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Collection of Lonti Ebers.
Object Description
This oil painting, which is 10 by 7 inches, is done on a gold leaf shield-shaped panel and depicts the top portion of the face of a Black dark-skinned male. Only the top of his forehead and hair are visible. His hair appears to be in short locs. A large patch of black tar obscures the portrait below his forehead. There are several small patches where the gold leaf is visible through the tar. The tar has a straight upper edge and falls in ragged drips below the bottom edge of the painting.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome XVIII, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Collection of Stacey Fabrikant.
Object Description
This small oil painting on a gilded shield-shaped wooden panel shows the upper half of a young Black man’s head. The head nearly fills the panel with the scant gold background done in worn gold leaf. The lower section of the painting is obscured by a sheet of thick black tar. The lower edge of the tar curtain hangs over the panel in a jagged, irregular, torn-looking sheet. The tattered lower edge contrasts with the straight, horizontal upper border of the tar. It obscures almost half of the man’s lower face from the bottom of his upper lip. The man faces the viewer directly. His dark brown eyes meet the viewers in a level penetrating gaze. He has short close cropped hair, scant eyebrows and a mustache. Through the tar some flecks of gold are visible.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome XXI, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Collection of Alvin Hall.
Object Description
This painting is executed using oil paint, gold leaf, and tar on a gilded shieldshaped wooden panel and measures about 10 x 7 inches. It features the head of a medium dark-skinned male, with the top half of his face visible. His dark hair is close-cropped and he has small dark brown eyes, dark sparse eyebrows, and a wide nose. He looks directly at the viewer with a slightly furrowed brow that indicates a quizzical gaze. He is illuminated by a front light that reflects off his cheeks, nose, and forehead. The lower part of his face, below his nose, is draped with a thick layer of black tar that is flecked with gold. The upper edge of the tar is straight across, which contrasts with the tattered lower edge that hangs below the frame.
Titus Kaphar, Jerome XXVIII, 2014. Oil, tar, and gold leaf on panel. 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm (10 x 7 x 1 in.). Collection of Lonti Ebers.
Object Description
This oil painting of the face of a Black dark-skinned man is done on a gold leaf shield-shaped panel. This panel is 10 by 7 inches. The man is looking directly at the viewer. He appears to be peering over an area of black tar that covers the lower part of the painting below his eyes. He has closely cropped dark hair and eyebrows, and brown eyes. The tar area is bumpy with a straight upper edge and falls raggedly below the lower edge of this painting. Small pieces of the gold appear through the tar.
Titus Kaphar: The Jerome Project is supported by the Abrams Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Wagner Foundation, the Robert Lehman Foundation, and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
Media Partner: The Boston Globe
The Museum receives operating support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which is supported by the state of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
