Fade to Black
This videotape is a meditation on contemporary race relations. In voiceover, two Black men describe events that typically go unnoticed or discounted by the white mainstream. They examine gestures, hesitations, stares, remarks--details of a world view. The piece visually juxtaposes fragments from Hollywood films, text, commentary, and a selective chronology of films that include representations of "Blackness." The work underlines the transitions between Black visibility in the institution of cinema and in the larger society.