Milan Noelle

I recently went with a friend to see Amy Sherald’s ‘American Sublime’ exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art. It was a resplendent display of Sherald’s depiction of everyday Black Americans. This piece pictured, ‘American Grit’, stopped me in my tracks. It had no description accompanying it. Though some of the other pieces in her exhibit didn’t include descriptions next to them, I think this was without one on purpose.

She wanted you to think about it, discuss it with others.

My friend and I must have discussed it for at least 20 minutes standing right in front of it, as if we had a private viewing all to ourselves. Working through our minds what this painting was displaying beyond the colors, shading, and highlighting. We exchanged more pauses and deafening silence than deciphering words. I eagerly snapped a photo to memorialize it and meditate on it some more at a later time.

Figuring out my interpretation of it kept gnawing at me. I’d keep pulling the photo up on my phone, looking at it with hopes of it speaking its meaning to me.

A week later, it was still living rent free in my mind. As I looked at the photo of it in my photo gallery again for the umpteenth time, interpretations started to flood my brain through coherent thoughts and ears through whispers and messages.

Take time to think about what you see and then click on Page 2 for my interpretations.

Pages: 1 2