Arthur Jafa: Love Is the Message, the Message Is Death

Arthur Jafa’s work investigates the prevailing assumptions about race and identity through an interdisciplinary practice that combines film, installation, sculpture, and performance. His much-celebrated 2016 video “Love is the Message, the Message is Death” captures the powerful emotions that underlie the African American experience, past and present. Encompassing scenes of heightened beauty and humor, as well as instances of horrific violence, the work testifies to the immense cultural achievements of African Americans while alluding to the pain and suffering that black people have endured throughout this country’s history.