Titus Kaphar

Ascension VI

Titus Kaphar is known for reimagining history from Black perspectives in an exploration of race and social issues. In Ascension VI, he used brass nails to overlay an image of an airborne Michael Jordan performing one of his signature slam dunks on a mid-seventeenth-century painting by Flemish painter Erasmus Quellinus II, in which the artist replaced the white figures with Black figures. Through this layering, the work conflates two iconic images into a single gesture, brimming with historical references, optimism, and admiration.