Debut: Titus Kaphar’s ‘Shut Up And Paint’ Welcomes You To See Some Of The Dark Sides Of The Modern Art World
“The conversation that Black artists have been having is that our work exists in white spaces, in white people’s houses, and they become separate from us, and disconnected from us, in a way that just feels not just,” internationally recognized contemporary artist and painter Titus Kaphar explains in a scene of his debut documentary short, Shut up and Paint.
Art has been used throughout human existence to communicate feelings, convey thoughts, and record history. When many of us think of fine art galleries, major museums, and art auctions, what typically comes to mind is a very niche part of high society meant for the most elite. A place for people of privilege and historically not welcoming to many people of color in marginalized communities. Titus Kaphar shares that sentiment and taps into the film medium to expand his art and message further after realizing the more success his paintings found in the modern art world, the less accessible the work is to his community.
Kaphar’s Shut Up and Paint is a personal look at his life as a successful Black artist. His artwork is renowned for its profoundly personal commentary on Black American history and the modes he uses. He has been recognized by the MacArthur Fellowship, with work featured on the cover of TIME Magazine and held in museum collections across the United States. The artist also co-founded NXTHVN, an arts foundation to mentor and inspire artists and art professionals in the Historical Black Dixwell neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut.
Shut Up and Paint is eye-opening as it focuses on Kaphar’s experience with the modern art world’s lack of connection with Black communities, a significant inspiration for starting NXTHVN. The documentary is titled to express his experience of being told that his paintings would be more sellable if he were quieter regarding the art’s activism and message and only spoke about the paint. Following his success, Kaphar found that the more his art is worth in the world of fine modern art, the less access his community has to it. And he was even finding his artwork purchased by those potentially not interested in the idea or community the art represents.
Kaphar uses his documentary to shed light on the part of the art world that seems unappeasable and more interested in a work of art as a product and investment than a message of feeling, experience, and activism. The artist repeatedly expresses his gratitude for his success but wants to highlight why he makes art the most. If there’s one thing Kaphar hopes viewers can take from watching Shut up and Paint is the understanding that, as a culture, we need to appreciate an artist for what they contribute and encompass fully as a person and not just for the products they produce.
Shut Up and Paint was recently announced as advancing in the documentary short film category for the 95th Academy Awards. The documentary is directed by Titus Kaphar and co-directed by Alex Mallis and was aired as part of the POV Shorts program on PBS in November 2022. Kaphar is currently working on an upcoming project titled Exhibiting Forgiveness as a feature film and narrative version of Shut up and Paint, showing no signs of quitting painting or keeping quiet on the issues that matter most to him.
