Nguyen Vu: WARP: Response to: Titus Kaphar, The Vesper Project

I definitely felt Titus Kaphar's ambitious energy emitting through his installations. Due to the historical nature of his art, I felt as if I was in a time capsule. During the process of trying to make sense of the internal fictional narrative running through his head, Kaphar chose materials ranging from painted canvas to an actual house that he reconstructed to fit the narrative. The house was actually the last installation in this exhibit that I chose to look at and the first thing I noticed was a presence within the walls of the demolished room. The presence was radiating off the materials that he used; the newspapers covering the walls, the photographs, the mangled furniture et cetera together creates an eerie and chaotic atmosphere that, to me, resemble the state of a human mind during a mental breakdown.

One of Titus Kaphar's most admirable characteristics to me is his commitment to his artistic process. He completely allowed himself to experiment, indulge, and get lost within his artwork. In the end, he wound up with this collection of works that carried out his intentions to "nod to hidden narratives and begin to reveal unspoken truths about the nature of history." Another thing that I find fascinating is the fact that he worked and lived with his fictional narrative (much like fictional writers) and is completely okay with allowing fictional stories to integrate into his reality. Like Kaphar, I would like to develop a stronger sense of trust with my art by continuing to create and letting the process draw out those hidden narratives in my own life.