Skin Color and Whiteness in Contemporary Art

This study demonstrates the significance of using contemporary art in scholarly debates about cultural aspects of skin, in particular ＂whiteness＂ as a phenomenon that is both overly visible and invisible.

There is a need for a study of these artists’ strategies, which consist of drawing attention to whiteness by means of making whiteness ＂strange＂ through alternative visibilities. By increasing skin awareness, the selected socio-critical artworks also pertain to fostering visual literacy as another important contemporary concern. Chapters mainly focus on recent artworks that address ongoing skin-related debates in countries in Europe and North America, rooted in histories of ideology of white supremacy. Moreover, these artworks critically reflect on the alleged superiority of the history of Western European painting, including a focus on the representation of pale skin as model of beauty.

The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, race and ethnicity studies, and cultural studies.

Helen Westgeest is Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History at Leiden University.