Rumors of War

Rumors of War is a series of artworks by Kehinde Wiley examining equestrian portraiture in the canon of Western art history[1] culminating in a bronze monumental equestrian statue by the artist of an African-American young man (with dreadlocks in a ponytail, jeans ripped at the knees and Nike high-top sneakers), created in response to the statue of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart in Richmond, Virginia in particular and similar statues of high-ranking Confederate Army officers which still stand in the United States despite persistent calls for their removal.[2] In July of 2020 all if the statues of the military leaders of the confederacy were removed by the City of Richmond from Monument Avenue where they had been since the first decade of the 20th century, except for the semblance of Robert E. Lee which is on State of Virginia owned land.  The Governor of Virginia , Ralph Northam moved to remove the work but was blocked by a court injunction issued after a lawsuit was filed.[3]

Rumors of War
Rumors of War two weeks after its unveiling at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia in December 2019.
ArtistKehinde Wiley
Year2019 (2019)
MediumBronze
Dimensions27 feet (8.2 m) tall & 16 feet (4.9 m) long
LocationVirginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

In September 2019 Wiley unveiled the work in Times Square in the borough of Manhattan in New York City with the backing of the Malcolm X Shabazz High School band from Newark, New Jersey.[4][5] There it was displayed amidst a sea of electronic billboards.[6]

The work, which is Wiley's largest at 27 feet high and 16 feet wide, stood in Times Square from September 21, 2019 until December 1, 2019.[7] The work then traveled to its permanent home at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, at the head of Arthur Ashe Boulevard, where it is situated near a volley of Confederate statues and monuments that populate the city's Monument Avenue.[8][9] It is the most expensive commission in the history of the museum.[10] The statue was unveiled a second time in Richmond on December 10, 2019.[11][12]

Wiley first employed the title "Rumors of War" in 2006 for a series of four large paintings which examine European equestrian portraiture and were premiered at the Deitch Projects gallery in New York City.[13] It has also been pointed out that Wiley in titling the work may have been citing a biblical passage from Matthew 24 ... "Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake"...[14] The bronze statue is placed upon a limestone pedestal into which the titular phrase is inscribed.[15]

References
  1. https://kehindewiley.com/works/rumors-of-war/
  2. http://arts.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-arts/projects/at-the-crossroads/rumors-of-war/index.aspx
  3. https://www.baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/07/07/richmond-removing-statue-of-confederate-gen-j-e-b-stuart/amp/
  4. Yakas, Ben (September 30, 2019). "Kehinde Wiley Unveils 'Rumors Of War' Statue In Times Square". Gothamist. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  5. Hoban, Phoebe (September 30, 2019). "Kehinde Wiley Makes a Statement With New Sculpture in Times Square". Architectural Digest. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  6. http://www.letagemagazine.com/kehinde-wileys-rumors-of-war-unveiled/
  7. "Rumors of War". Times Square Arts.
  8. Ugwu, Reggie (September 27, 2019). "Kehinde Wiley's Times Square Monument: That's No Robert E. Lee". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  9. Moynihan, Ellen; McShane, Larry (September 27, 2019). "'Rumors of War' statue makes Times Square debut, provides a response to Confederate monuments in its future home of Richmond, Va". NY Daily News.
  10. Kennicott, Philip (September 27, 2019). "With a brass band blaring, artist Kehinde Wiley goes off to war with Confederate statues". Washington Post.
  11. "Kehinde Wiley's 'Rumors of War' unveiled in Times Square ahead of Richmond debut". Virginia Mercury. September 29, 2019.
  12. Cornish, Audie (December 10, 2019). Kehinde Wiley's 'Rumors Of War' Sculpture Unveiled In Richmond (Radio). All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  13. https://deitch.com/archive/exhibitions/rumors-of-war
  14. Mattingly, Terry (September 30, 2019). "God's judgement in Times Square, and soon Richmond: Does 'Rumors of War' mean anything?". GetReligion.
  15. Witalidoff, Lucas (December 4, 2019). "Kehinde Wiley's "Rumors of War" statue to be permanently installed at the VMFA December 10th". RVAHub. Retrieved December 10, 2019.

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