Arthur Jafa dominates New Museum with landmark exhibit ‘I am Tony’

On September 24, the New Museum presented “I am Tony,” which showcases the works of video artist and cinematographer Arthur Jafa. Covering two floors of the museum, “I am Tony” is the largest survey to date of the artist’s work. Museum-goers can expect to be immersed in a barrage of video collages, paintings, and sculptures that encapsulate the experience of Black people in America, sometimes through humor and other times through violence.

“I am Tony” is named after legendary jazz drummer Tony Williams. The exhibit aims to connect Black popular music to film and life in America.

Jafa was born in 1960 in Tupelo, Mississippi. At Howard University, he studied architecture and film and later moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking. He was the cinematographer for Julie Dash’s film “Daughters of the Dust,” an essential movie in the art-house genre. Jafa has since worked as a visual artist and cinematographer on various art endeavours, including with legendary filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and Spike Lee during his career.

Jafa is best known for his short film “Love is the Message, the Message is Death.” This 7-minute video came out during the early years of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2016. It was beloved, yet controversial. The film interweaves video clips from dance parties, police shootings, internet memes, and sports, with the “Ultra Light Beam” by Kanye West playing in the background. The New Museum exhibition is showing this film along with a myriad of Jafa’s video projects.

The exhibit was curated by Massimilano Gioni, Edlis Neeson, Gary Carrion-Murayari, and Calvin Wang.

At a recent media preview, museum director Massimilano Gioni discussed the New Museum’s excitement about the opportunity to display Jafa’s work. “It’s not only an honor and a privilege to be able to present this exhibition, but it’s also one that, as many of our solo show exhibitions that I like to call ‘introspectives’ rather than ‘retrospectives,’ offer(s) a kind of peek into the creative universe of the artist,” Gioni said.

Throughout the works in the exhibit, Jafa’s love for film is apparent. Many of his video collages include scenes from movies like “A Clockwork Orange,” “Alien,” “Star Wars,” and “Belly.” One video installation is a re-edit of a scene from “Taxi Driver” where the pimps killed by character Travis Bickle were digitally edited to be Black men.

Visitors also get a look into Jafa’s love for music. Among the mediums of paintings, prints, sculptures, and videos are images of pioneers in popular music, such as Miles Davis, Beyoncé, and Erykah Badu, and references to gospel, hardcore, and punk rock musicians as well.

Jafa also grabs viral internet videos and incorporates those into his artworks. Clips from internet stars like Plies and IceJJFish are thrown into videos sporadically. Some video installations feature scenes from twerk contests, gospel performances, and the famous clip of Obama singing “Amazing Grace.”

At the same time, Jafa’s video installations also highlight images of Black trauma. A handful of clips show Black people suffering brutality at the hands of the police. Showcasing these sensitive images is something that curators took into consideration when putting together the exhibit.

“It’s challenging to figure out how to present that kind of material within the public space of an exhibition, but I also say that it’s not only images of Black death and trauma; there’s also images of Black creativity,” said Carrion Murayari.

“I am Tony” runs until January 3, 2027. For more info, visit newmuseum.org.