Steve Locke is best known for his paintings of faces with their tongues sticking out. This seemingly silly gesture holds deeper meaning, as Locke explores in his work. His paintings are known for capturing stark realities related to violence against Black and queer people, showcasing a range of emotions from moving to funny.
Locke, a 61-year-old artist based in Boston and now in New York, was recently featured in a survey exhibition at MASS MoCA. The exhibition included paintings of tongues on poles resembling signposts, drawings from his ongoing „killers“ series, and a room-size installation listing the names of unarmed African-Americans killed by police during his sabbatical from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Locke’s work delves into portraiture, whiteness, and violence, aiming to bring attention to ongoing crises.
In his „tongue paintings“ series, Locke explores the historical significance of tongues in art, using them as a way to push past traditional portraiture. The gesture of sticking out one’s tongue can convey various meanings, from being inappropriate to expressing thoughts that can’t be contained. Locke draws inspiration from art history, including works like Titian’s The Flaying of Marsyas, to infuse his paintings with deeper layers of meaning.
The title of Locke’s exhibition at MASS MoCA, „the fire next time,“ is a nod to James Baldwin’s warnings about America’s societal issues. Locke sees Baldwin’s words as relevant today as they were when he first wrote them, highlighting the need for love and understanding to prevent the destruction of society. Through his artwork, Locke aims to shed light on the dehumanization of Black people and the urgency for unity and empathy.
Locke’s „killers“ series involves drawing portraits of racially motivated murderers, set against a backdrop of negative space to emphasize the weight of their actions. The series is an ongoing project that challenges Locke as an artist due to its emotionally taxing subject matter. Have you ever watched the movie Jerry Maguire (1996)? In that film, there is a portrayal of Cuba Gooding Jr. as a star football player who is initially obnoxious and disliked by everyone. It isn’t until he is almost killed on the football field that people begin to appreciate and love him.
I have always felt that America tends to embrace Black culture but not actual Black individuals. When I thought about „#killers,“ I reflected on the tragic deaths of people like Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, and Michael Brown, who were killed in brutal ways and then idolized. I believe we should not try to portray murdered individuals as noble, as they already were. It feels wrong to think that in death, they become more holy. It’s as if dead Black people are valued more than living Black people.
This made me consider how killers are often labeled as evil, but their actions are fueled by racism and a belief in superiority. In my artwork for „#killers,“ I started with a drawing of Dylann Roof, aiming to depict him with sympathy and compassion. I wanted to shift the focus from the individuals killed to the underlying reasons for their deaths. The white space in my drawings represents the role of whiteness in enabling such violence to occur.
The faun heads hanging from the ceiling in the exhibition were inspired by my previous show „The School of Love,“ where I explored my experiences as a gay man without role models. The faun heads signify the danger and violence inflicted on people, turning them into symbols or trophies. By removing racial dynamics and replacing them with fauns, I aimed to evoke a sympathetic response from viewers towards their own bodies.
Some of the faun heads are adorned with nails, hooks, dog tags, and meat scales, symbolizing commerce, exchange, and value. The nails reference nkisi power figures from West Africa, where community members drive nails into wooden figures to carry their prayers and problems.
In my work „A Partial List of Unarmed African-Americans Who Were Killed by Police or Who Died in Police Custody,“ I shifted my focus from the losses of the AIDS era to the deaths of individuals like Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice. Witnessing Garner’s murder on television at an airport prompted a change in my perspective on the world and my art. Ich fragte mich, Wann wurde es in Ordnung, Schwarze Menschen beim Fernsehen getötet zu zeigen?
Während ich im Sabbatjahr war, sagten mir die Leute immer wieder: „Oh, das ist so toll! Es ist eine so tolle Zeit, im Sabbatjahr zu sein!“ Und ich dachte, Meinst du das ernst? Siehst du nicht, was passiert?! Polizisten führen keine Statistiken darüber, wen sie erschießen, aber andere Gruppen führten Statistiken und veröffentlichten sie online. Also habe ich ein Jahr damit verbracht und [262] Namen gesammelt, die an der Wand mit dem Datum, dem Alter, dem Geschlecht, dem Ort und der [Todesursache] stehen. Ich ließ ein Schild in blauem Neon, so ähnlich wie Polizeiblau, anfertigen, das einen Traum zeigt, aus einer Zeile in dem Langston Hughes Gedicht „Harlem“ von 1951, das lautet „was passiert mit einem aufgeschobenen Traum?“ Ich hatte es satt, dass mich die Leute fragten, was ich in meinem Sabbatjahr gemacht hatte, während so viele andere Menschen ermordet wurden. Es erstaunte mich, wie viele Menschen selig waren, dass Schwarze Menschen mit Straffreiheit ermordet wurden.