Video artist Arthur Jafa on actualizing Black potential, part 2

02/07/23 • 34 min

Black people know this: There’s a difference between what you say and what you mean. It’s been a matter of survival for us.

For over 30 years, American visual artist and cinematographer Arthur Jafa has captured the histories and experiences of Black Americans with projects that exemplify both the universal and particular facets of Black life.

In the second part of this masterclass in Black thought, Jafa continues his free-from improvisation through his breadth of knowledge and understanding of visual culture — embedded with all the references, rhetorics, and personal reflections of someone who has spent a lifetime dedicated to centralizing the varied experiences of Black Being.

Black people know this: There’s a difference between what you say and what you mean. It’s been a matter of survival for us.

Previous Episode

Video artist Arthur Jafa on actualizing Black potential, part 1

"I don't want to be the prisoner in a box, even if it's a box I made."

In this masterclass in Black thought — the first episode in a two-part series — Jafa shares a free-from improvisation through his breadth of knowledge and understanding of visual culture — embedded with all the references, rhetorics, and personal reflections of someone who has spent a lifetime dedicated to centralizing the varied experiences of Black Being.

LANGUAGE ADVISORY: This episode contains some strong language, including the use of a racial slur in the context of summarizing what the speakers have heard, felt, and experienced in their lives. Listener discretion is advised.

If you'd like to learn more about the artists and references in this episode, please see below:

Ultralight Beam - Kanye West

Love is the Message, The Message is Death - Arthur Jafa

Next Episode

Helga Returns For A Sixth Season!

Get ready for a new season of fearless conversations that reveal the extraordinary in all of us.

Critically acclaimed actress, singer, writer and composer Helga Davis returns for a new season of soulful conversations with artists and thinkers from a variety of disciplines, including Brittany Howard, Whitney White, Tremaine Emory, Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, Suzan-Lori Parks, Noliwe Rooks and Sampha.

In each episode, Davis and her guest share stories of struggle and resilience, challenges and victories along their creative journeys, providing inspiration and hope to listeners. Unique in the audio landscape for the depth of inquiry and emotional vulnerability, HELGA’s thought-provoking conversations offer to expand our collective perspective on the human condition and the daily stressors of the world today. And each episode leaves listeners with something practical and practice-able: an idea for something they can do everyday to help them stay in touch with their own humanity and creativity, whatever form it may take.

Season six is the second season co-produced by WNYC Studios, WQXR and the Brown Arts Institute at Brown University.