The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery will feature UnSeen: Our Past in a new light, an exhibition showcasing the work of Ken Gonzales-Day and Titus Kaphar ’02MFA. The exhibit, on display for the next 10 months, will illuminate the ways in which people of color contributed to this country’s founding. It examines both the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of minorities in the art of and the discussion of American history. Kaphar’s pieces reevaluate portraits of American figures, revealing that these portraits perpetuated racial difference and systemic prejudice. Gonzales-Day’s photographs of portrait busts showcase how science and art have reinforced the idea of racial difference and “Otherness.”
The exhibition will open in March run through January.