Between Shadows and Noise: Sensation, Situatedness, and the Undisciplined

In Between Shadows and Noise, Amber Jamilla Musser explores sensation as a Black feminist method for aesthetic interpretation and criticism, using the body's knowledge to access the unrepresentable. She examines artworks from Ming Smith, Jordan Peeles, Katherine Dunham, Samita Sinhas, Titus Kaphars, and Teresita Fernández to grapple with racialization and difference, rethinking the relationships between race, representation, and politics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 13 February 2024
Publisher: Duke University Press

Between Shadows and Noise, Amber Jamilla Musser delves into the realm of sensation as a Black feminist approach to aesthetic interpretation and critique. By drawing upon the knowledge held within the body, Musser seeks to access the unrepresentable, challenging the dominant narratives of art history. Through a thoughtful exploration of Blackness, empire, and colonialism, Musser examines a diverse range of artworks, including Ming Smith's Flamingo Fandango, Jordan Peeles' Us, Katherine Dunham's Shango, Samita Sinhas' This ember state, Titus Kaphars' A Pillow for Fragile Fictions, and Teresita Fernández's Puerto Rico (Burned). By engaging with these works from an embodied and situated perspective, Musser aims to grapple with the questions and sensations of racialization and difference that they evoke. Throughout her work, Musser reimagines the relationships between race, representation, and politics by dwelling in spaces and concepts that defy Western norms of representation, objectivity, and logic. In doing so, she explores alternative ways of being and knowing that exceed predetermined parameters, offering a blueprint for sensing, imagining, and living otherwise. This groundbreaking approach to art analysis offers a profound exploration of the complexities of identity and representation, challenging us to think critically and expand our understanding of the world.

Weight: 326g
Dimension: 152 x 233 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478030096