Figuration (B)

2017 - Film & Video (Film & Video)

36:12 minutes

Jibade-Khalil Huffman


Jibade-Khalil Huffman’s work brings together spoken and written language, photography, vintage television and computer animation to pay homage to African-American popular culture. Figuration (B) is a mediatic dumpster dive through the not-yet-historical past, its fantasia of purloined images flowing to an interruptive, channel-surfing logic. A stream of TV clips, commercials, news segments, video memes, and movie scenes—at times run backwards, doubled, or layered over other clips—incorporate archival and pop cultural sources layered with a soundtrack constructed of found and made sources to make something akin to a video mixtape. With it, the artist (who has also published three collections of poetry) aims to flatten hierarchies of form as well as those that emerge among his far-flung source materials, by turns pop, esoteric, and vernacular. Figuration (B) opens with the throbbing baseline from the title track of the 1980 cult film Flash Gordon , composed, produced, and performed by Queen; a Colt 45 advertisement; Scarface ; Will Farrell tranquilized in Old School ; the basketball player Isiah Thomas strangling his coach in 1989; Jeru the Damaja’s song Invasion and Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 ; and a program in which a boy exclaims “Hey, aren’t you Frederick Douglass?” All of this is distorted or filtered through hazy pinks and greens, and it dissolves, on occasion, into graphic geometry. For all the accessible humor, pop imagery, and antiracist politics of Huffman’s work, its poetic excess of aesthetic, cultural, and semantic input accumulates into an opaque mass, overwhelming expedient readings.


Jibade-Khalil Huffman uses performance, photography, and video that pushes the capabilities of text and image to tell stories and convey meaning. Drawing on his background in poetry, Huffman plays with timing and pacing in his visual work to tease out suspense, tension, expectation, and release.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette

Deep Ellum’s Kettle Art Has Been Helping Artists for Nearly 15 Years
© » D MAGAZINE

Deep Ellum’s Kettle Art Has Been Helping Artists for Nearly 15 Years - D Magazine Skip to content Menu Search One brand, four magazines...

Antoine Grumbach — Les Yeux du Ciel
© » SLASH PARIS

Antoine Grumbach — Les Yeux du Ciel — Jeanne Bucher Jaeger | Paris, Marais Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Antoine Grumbach — Les Yeux du Ciel — Jeanne Bucher Jaeger | Paris, Marais Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Antoine Grumbach — Les Yeux du Ciel Exhibition Architecture, urban art, drawing, installation.....

Contemporary Art Station announces ’Shibuya Station Exhibition’ for March 19
© » KUMI CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE ART

Contemporary Art Station, the platform that facilitates both emerging and established artists to display their works in public, is pleased to announce the first edition of ’Shibuya Station Exhibition’...

Three Poems by Katy Lederer
© » BOMB

BOMB Magazine | Three Poems Necessary (Required) Cookies that the site cannot function properly without...

PANGKIS
© » KADIST

Yee I-Lann

2021

PANGKIS by Yee I-Lann is a looped video performance...

Nicolás Paris
© » KADIST

Nicolás Paris will be the next artist-in-residence at Kadist Paris and he will present a solo show opening on September 28, 2013...

Sarah Lucas Britain
© » TATE EXHIBITIONS

Sarah Lucas | Tate Britain A British artist's brash and tender exploration of what makes us human Sarah Lucas is internationally celebrated for her bold and provocative use of materials and imagery...

Swedish-Burkinabé artist Theresa Traoré Dahlberg on bridging past and present
© » FRANCE24

Swedish-Burkinabé artist Theresa Traoré Dahlberg on bridging past and present - arts24 Skip to main content Swedish-Burkinabé artist Theresa Traoré Dahlberg on bridging past and present Issued on: 01/02/2024 - 16:02 12:13 arts24 © FRANCE 24 By: Marion CHAVAL | Yinka OYETADE | Alison SARGENT | Loïc CHALAVON | Sonia PATRICELLI With a mother from Sweden and a father from Burkina Faso, visual artist and filmmaker Theresa Traoré Dahlberg grew up with a dual perspective...

Weekly Picks: Singapore (28 January – 3 February 2019)
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Weekly Picks: Singapore (28 January – 3 February 2019) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Weekly To Do January 28, 2019 Prologue by The Arts House at the Old Parliament, until 2 Feb Head on down to The Arts House for a series of programmes that celebrate words and stories from all over the world in conjunction with Light to Night Festival...

David Diao: Impeccable touch
© » TWOCOATSOFPAINT

David Diao: Impeccable touch – Two Coats of Paint Green Naftali: David Diao, On Barnett Newman, 1991-2023, Installation View ...

One Thousand and One Attempts To Be an Ocean
© » KADIST

Yuyan Wang

2022

One Thousand and One Attempts to Be an Ocean by Yuyan Wang reflects on the experience of not being able to see the world with depth perception...

Priapus Agonistes
© » KADIST

Mary Reid Kelley

2013

Priapus Agonistes by Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley is the first work in The Minotaur Trilogy (2013-2015), a trio of videos that reimagine the Greek myth of the Minotaur...

A Tribute to Santha Bhaskar From a Student
© » ARTS EQUATOR

A Tribute to Santha Bhaskar From a Student | ArtsEquator Skip to content Aparna Nambiar pays tribute to her late teacher, Singapore dance pioneer Mrs Santha Bhaskar, who passed away on 26 February 2022 at the age of 82...

Nalini Malani — The Human Stain
© » SLASH PARIS

Nalini Malani — The Human Stain — Lelong & Co...

Press Release: Art21 to Release First Film of 2024: “Lawrence Abu Hamdan: Politics of Listening”
© » ART21

Press Release: Art21 to Release First Film of 2024: “Lawrence Abu Hamdan: Politics of Listening” | Art21 Our Series Art in the Twenty-First Century Extended Play New York Close Up Artist to Artist William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible Specials Art21.live An always-on video channel featuring programming hand selected by Art21 Playlists Curated by Art21 staff, with guest contributions from artists, educators, and more Art21 Library Explore over 700 videos from Art21's television and digital series Latest Video 15:03 Add to watchlist Politics of Listening Lawrence Abu Hamdan Extended Play February 7, 2024 Search Searching Art21… Welcome to your watchlist Look for the plus icon next to videos throughout the site to add them here...

Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
© » KADIST

Alejandro Almanza Pereda

2015

This still life falls apart, or rather floats apart as the composition is proved unstable and constantly morphing...

Jiang Zhi
© » KADIST

Jiang Zhi, interviewed by Xiaoyu Weng...

Inner Vision: Photography by Blind Artists: Karren Visser
© » LENS SCRATCH

Inner Vision: Photography by Blind Artists: Karren Visser - LENSCRATCH Fine Art Photography Daily Subscribe / Contact / About Home Photographers Browse All Browse Alphabetically Browse by Genre Browse by Subject Browse by Place Browse by Process Features Publisher’s Spotlight The States Project Alaska Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Content Aware DEVELOPER Mixtapes Art and Science Competition: The Heart of the Matter Book Reviews Geometry In the Dark Insecta Magic Night The Natural World/Nature Women and Earth The Art of Healing Lenscratch Student Prize Winners 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 Notes from a Curator Exhibitions Interviews Articles Photographers on Photographers Resources Artist Residencies Calls For Entry Lenscratch Library Portfolio Reviews Photo Festivals Online Magazines Print Magazines Sites of Interest Organizations and Institutions Photography Charities Grants Submit About Submissions Submit to Lenscratch Exhibitions Submit To Art and Science Award Submit to Student Prize Submit Your Project Shop Home Photographers Browse All Browse Alphabetically Browse by Genre Browse by Subject Browse by Place Browse by Process Features Publisher’s Spotlight The States Project Alaska Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Content Aware DEVELOPER Mixtapes Art and Science Competition: The Heart of the Matter Book Reviews Geometry In the Dark Insecta Magic Night The Natural World/Nature Women and Earth The Art of Healing Lenscratch Student Prize Winners 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 Notes from a Curator Exhibitions Interviews Articles Photographers on Photographers Resources Artist Residencies Calls For Entry Lenscratch Library Portfolio Reviews Photo Festivals Online Magazines Print Magazines Sites of Interest Organizations and Institutions Photography Charities Grants Submit About Submissions Submit to Lenscratch Exhibitions Submit To Art and Science Award Submit to Student Prize Submit Your Project Shop Inner Vision: Photography by Blind Artists: Karren Visser by Karren Visser December 18, 2023 © Karren Visser, Autism in Africa, 2013...

Antoine Grumbach — Les Yeux du Ciel
© » SLASH PARIS

Antoine Grumbach — Les Yeux du Ciel — Galerie Jeanne Bucher Jaeger | Paris, Marais — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook Antoine Grumbach — Les Yeux du Ciel — Galerie Jeanne Bucher Jaeger | Paris, Marais — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour Antoine Grumbach — Les Yeux du Ciel Exposition Architecture, art urbain, dessin, installations.....

Wailing Requiem
© » KADIST

Wang Tuo

2021

Wailing Requiem is the fourth and final chapter of The Northeast Tetralogy , a film project that Wang Tuo began in 2017...