Mickalene Thomas’ photographs, paintings and videos question perceived notions of race, gender and sexuality. In '(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right', Thomas revises the art...
Mickalene Thomas’ photographs, paintings and videos question perceived notions of race, gender and sexuality. In "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right", Thomas revises the art historical trope of the female nude typically envisioned by a white male artist. Her subject gazes at the viewer with self-assured ease, confident in her beauty and seductive charm. The backgrounds in Thomas’ photographs, created in her studio, allude both to the tradition of studio portraiture in African photographic history and to the 1970s lifestyle of her glamorous mother, a central muse in her work. The title of the photograph is borrowed from Luther Ingram’s 1972 hit song about a married man lamenting the irresistible allure of another woman.