Complimentary Story
Knowing a little about induction and the power of symbolism from my work as a counselor for the last 44 years, I was appalled and shocked by two of the recently revealed past paintings of the black artist, Kehinde Wiley, Barack Obama’s official portrait painter, that showcased two beheaded white woman’s heads. He explained that these two paintings were part of the “Kill Whitey” thing. He also said these paintings “Translate the image of a courageous powerful woman into a contemporary version that resonates with fury and righteousness.” The shocking part of this is that symbolism, particularly that of art, is subliminal. It crosses into our unconscious mind and spirit and bypasses, for many, their critical thinking mind. That’s its power. It’s meant to evoke the emotions and the spirit. That’s why it is effective. Advertisers know this all too well. Witness the use of this cunning art in today’s internet and visual art that is enlisted to sell almost anything.
So what is this “artist” selling with such a vile, depraved, violent painting. Is it fury and righteousness or is it violence and self righteousness? And why now at this particular time in our society? I say it is meant to strike at the core of the non-black family, the female, the traditional primary nurturing one in the family. As such, it is a perpetration from a perpetrator of the most violent message imaginable in visual form. Having worked with domestic and sexual abuse perpetrators for the last 40 years, I can say that this painting or these paintings are revenge- and power- oriented. There is an evasiveness and perversion of the meaning of words going on in the artist’s explanation of his work.
All perpetrators are preoccupied with the need for power and control and revenge, always at the expense of an innocent and usually more vulnerable person. Why? The reason is that this preoccupation and the actions that follow allow the download of rage and hurt they feel from their own victimization from their own having been perpetrated upon. This artist is mirroring the hurt and rage of the black community, which is real and legitimate, but he is driving this turmoil, hurt and rage into the heart of the white culture, the woman, in an attempt to get revenge and power (ie, “Kill Whitey thing”).
This will never heal the black community. It will only create a new generation of victimized, hurt and then angry people. When this “artist” chooses to do this kind of “art,” he is choosing to be a perpetrator every bit as harmful as the “knock out game” perpetrators in the inner cities of America. This behavior will deliver short term relief from genuine gnawing abuse carried inside the people involved but will not heal the hurt. Similarly, the epidemic of black-on-black violence in Chicago is understandable and will give the perpetrators a short term relief from their own rage and feelings of victimization, but at a terrible price. The same is true for any individual of any race in any culture, not just the black culture.
This talented visual artist has fallen into the trap of “get evenism” and has subverted and perverted his considerable artistic talent in that effort. The context of the message is contemporary and positioned for our culture at this point in time, despite the artist’s claiming it is based on a renaissance work by Caravaggio and Gentileschi depicting the story of Judith beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes. The colors, the lines, the intensity and vividness of the art is significant but the message delivered is dark, violent and satanic.
Why Satanic? Because Satan is the father of all lies. And what are the lies in this art? That the violation of white women and white families and white culture will heal and bring resolution, satisfaction and peace to our black brothers and sisters. It will not. Standing up to violence, racism, sexism etc will strengthen our boundaries and bring needed limits and guardrails into our own hearts and communities and provide the needed integration with our God-given desire to nuture and love. Perpetration will not accomplish this.
Perpetration derives from a thought distortion (lie) that tells the perpetrator that he is entitled to do this violence due to what was done to him or his people. This also is another thought distortion (lie) as one is never entitled to violate and abuse another as one was abused themselves. The lie is that revenge will heal all of this. In truth, revenge only downloads the trauma from the nervous system temporarily. It creates no lasting healing for the individual as the person’s true spirit, is not in the equation and it damages others in the process.
Revenge, entitlement, violent fantasies and perpetration and the use of art to deliver it comes from Satan’s play book. He is clever and he knows art crosses into the spirit and stays there, particularly visual art. Music does the same thing.
I challenge this artist to humble himself and open his heart up to his brothers and sisters and his black community. Without doubt, rage and violence will tumble out as it needs to come out. Then, inevitably, with patience, the underlying hurt and anguish will also surface and be able to be witnessed and attended to. With the love and support that clearly is there in the black community, the hurt can be embraced, accepted, validated and loved on. Once more of his healing and healing in his own community occurs, then this same process needs to happen between the black and non-black community as well as other communities. These communities clearly need to do the same kind of soul searching and healing for this final step to be successful. Everything said here about the black community also applies to the white or other communities. One can see how this might be able to work if everyone does their own part. This is hard work. It takes courage. Yes, rage needs to come out but it needs to be contained rage: Rage contained by strong, healed elders who can hear and validate and help direct and integrate it but NOT indulge it. Then, and only then, can the deeper hurt, anguish and heartbreak come out. Violent perpetration art cannot do any of this. It is only a symptom of the profound pain underneath it.
Only elders guided by love and truth can help facilitate this needed work. Only those familiar with their own truth, both positive and negative truth, can do this work. Only those who have faced their own evil and brokenness can help guide this work. Jesus said, “I AM the way, the truth and the life.” In my mind then, it is clear that only those with a relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit and thus the Father can do this work. A perfect relationship? Highly doubtful. On their way to a deeper walk with Christ, the Holy spirit and thus the Father, through humbling oneself, confessing their errors and endeavoring to do His will? A definite yes.
In the end, I believe that it isn’t even those with this relationship with God that are doing the actual work because in truth, it is God Himself doing this work through these people surrendered to His will. For as Paul said, “It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me.” When this is the case, then all manner of miracles become possible. When this is the case, then factions and divisions and nations can become healed and identity politics and the culture war can wind down. When that is the case, then the power of the Holy Spirit comes into play and one can better discern the log in his own eye so they can better remove the splinter in their neighbor’s eye. Art and music can be a part of that healing, but art that heals, not art that harms. May it be so.
