Hebru Brantley: The Art of Representation

The Bronzeville native and preeminent Black pop artist of his generation, Hebru Brantley, straddles the worlds of fine art, street art, and hip-hop—often name-dropped in rap songs and collected by Jay-Z and LeBron James. Brantley’s work restores innocence to depictions of Black youth, normalizes images of Black children at play, and suggests an entirely new mythology through the creation of Black superheroes. Brantley chats with Amanda Williams, an artist, and 2022 MacArthur Fellow who uses ideas around color and architecture to explore intersections with race. These artists visit the Institute of Design and Chicago Humanities for an upbeat, life-affirming chat about art, representation, and being Black in America.