An illustrated anthology of texts on artist Amanda Williams, edited in collaboration with Camille Bacon.
An illustrated anthology of texts on artist Amanda Williams, edited in collaboration with Camille Bacon.
What Black Is This You Say?, by Amanda Williams, convenes a broad set of contributors to respond to her own eponymous public artwork at Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York City (2021-2023). In this collection, the 17 colors and captions that appeared on the facade of Storefront-the project began as a series of Instagram posts of different hues of black, paired with witty and incisive comments on the multiplicity of Black culture-are expounded upon in poems, essays, and prose. With this anthology, Williams deliberately departs from traditional art criticism by gathering an intimate ensemble of her peers, friends, and collaborators, including Roxane Gay, Corinne Bailey Rae, and J Wortham, to comment on her work.
What Black Is This You Say? is the first title in a new series titled Groundworks, produced in conjunction with Storefront for Art and Architecture. Storefront, founded in 1982, is known for its commitment to challenging and reframing the relationship between public and private space. In 1993, the gallery commissioned a project by the artist Vito Acconci and architect Steven Holl that replaced the exterior fa ade with a series of 12 movable panels that open the entire length of the gallery to the street, enabling endless possibilities of entry, navigation, and absorption into the gallery space.
By:
Amanda Williams
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 254mm,
Width: 191mm,
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9780262049344
ISBN 10: 0262049341
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 20 May 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
I. Colors 1. Whatchu Cain’t Do Black - Roxane Gay 2. NYT Uppercase - J Wortham 3. Stevie's Eyelids Black - Corrine Bailey Rae 4. Andriana Fur Black - Rikki Byrd 5. More Than One Black - Joshua Segun-Lean 6. Praying Over Pork Chops Black - Eric Williams 7. Break From Blackness Black - Zoe Samuzdi 8. ATM Black - Emmanuel Massillon 9. Dark Skin Weapon - Habiba Hopson 10. Patent Black - Pablo Whaley 11. Fourth of July is a Lie Black - Kara Jackson 12. Hardheaded and Tenderheaded Black - Jamila Woods 13. CP Time - rejected - Rohan Ayinde 14. CP Time - embraced - Rohan Ayinde 15. Candy Lady Black - Tomi Laja 16. Blackness is not a color Black - Sena Amuzu 17. I’m Not African American Black - Cornelius Tulloch II. Dialogues 1. What Black is This You Say? Conversation between Amanda Williams and Cauleen Smith 2. might/Black walls (the Blackness of blackness) - Andres Hernandez: On the histories, potentials and limitations of minimalism and color theory, and what it means to coat a building that occupies public space in ciphers of blackness 3. Conversation between Justin Garett Moore, Mabel O. Wilson, and Amanda Williams 4. Epilogue - Deana Haggag
Amanda Williams is an American visual artist who trained as an architect. Her practice uses color to foreground the complexities of race, place, and value in cities. Her works are in several collections including MoMA and the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a MacArthur Foundation fellowship.
