Arthur Jafa’s I Am Tony is an exhibition currently on view at the New Museum which shows his video and photographic work confronting black life in the contemporary United States. While the amount of work shown in this collection is overwhelmingly large, its standout pieces mirror the complexity and friction of American life.
The animated video scored to abstractions of R&B music, AGHDRA (2021), is one of the highlights in this exhibition. While this piece is more abstract compared to the broader theme of the show, the sensations felt in viewing this work communicates the attitude of the whole exhibit. The animation of black waves threatening to swallow you, and the heavy bass that vibrates directly into the chest, transforms the gallery into an almost religious space. In combination with the enormous scale of the piece, you feel the heightened tension between dread and survival which become a thematic through line.
In contrast to AGHDRA (2021), Jafa’s compilation of viral video clips named The White Album (2018), reframes surreal internet moments into a mix of statements. From race to power dynamics, the absurdity of these clips is hard to look past when compiled as a collection, but it really shows how much of culture on the internet is built on black and white American life clashing.
Throughout this exhibition, Jafa flexes his ability to punch through the gloss of contemporary life in modern America, and show us the reality in its rawest form.
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