1980 to now

It's never been harder to define "art" than it is today, but one thing is certain — artists are always having a conversation with the time they live in.

videos + essays

Over the next two years, Seeing America will grow to include 100 videos, 18 essays, quizzes, discussion questions and lesson plans.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres, <em>“Untitled” (L.A.)</em>
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (L.A.)

For Gonzalez-Torres, the pile of candy that makes up "Untitled" (L.A.) is embedded with deeply personal and political meanings.

Jenny Holzer, <em>Inflammatory Essays</em> and <em>All Fall</em>
Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays and All Fall

Holzer's text-based art encourages viewers to reflect on how we make meaning in the world today.

Mickalene Thomas, <em>Guernica (Resist #3)</em>
Mickalene Thomas, Guernica (Resist #3)

Thomas's assemblage of photographs, paint, and glittering sequins lends sacredness to the struggles of the civil rights movements.

Muriel Hasbun, <em>X post facto (6.7)</em>
Muriel Hasbun, X post facto (6.7)

Hasbun's photograph of an X-ray is deeply laden with meaning and tragedy.

Genesis Báez, <em>Crossing Time</em>
Genesis Báez, Crossing Time

Báez’s photograph poetically expresses the tie between the artist and her origins.

Glendalys Medina, <em>Atabey</em>
Glendalys Medina, Atabey

Atabey, the ancestral mother of the Taíno, is reinterpreted in Medina's carefully constructed work.

Glenn Ligon, <em>Untitled (America)</em>
Glenn Ligon, Untitled (America)

Brilliant red neon illuminates the word "AMERICA," but why are the letters upside down?

Firelei Báez, <em>Untitled (A Correct Chart of Hispaniola with the Windward Passage)</em>
Firelei Báez, Untitled (A Correct Chart of Hispaniola with the Windward Passage)

A partially obscured figure crouches over a historical map of Hispaniola in an act of anticolonial resistance.

Luis Alfonso Jiménez, <em>Eagle</em>
Luis Alfonso Jiménez, Eagle

A symbol of the U.S. and Mexico, the eagle reflects Jiménez's Chicano identity.

Ilana Savdie, <em>Thirty-Seven Counts</em> and <em>Trismus</em>
Ilana Savdie, Thirty-Seven Counts and Trismus

Abstracted human, animal, and parasitic forms create both an alluring and grotesque image.

Martin Puryear, <em>Lookout</em>
Martin Puryear, Lookout

Pierced with holes, this architectural sculpture offers both shelter from and exposure to the surrounding elements.

Kerry James Marshall, <em>Now And Forever</em>; Elizabeth Alexander, “American Song,” Washington National Cathedral
Kerry James Marshall, Now And Forever; Elizabeth Alexander, “American Song,” Washington National Cathedral

Kerry James Marshall and Elizabeth Alexander create words and images that fill the Washington National Cathedral with hope.