Nonprofits & Activism

Can beauty open our hearts to difficult conversations? | Titus Kaphar

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. An artwork’s color or composition can pull you in — and put you on the path to having important and difficult conversations, says artist Titus Kaphar. In this stunning talk, he reflects on his artistic evolution and takes us…

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Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

An artwork’s color or composition can pull you in — and put you on the path to having important and difficult conversations, says artist Titus Kaphar. In this stunning talk, he reflects on his artistic evolution and takes us on a tour of his career — from “The Jerome Project,” which draws on religious icons to examine the US criminal justice system, to “From a Tropical Space,” a haunting body of work that centers around Black mothers whose children have disappeared. Kaphar also shares the idea behind NXTHVN, an arts incubator and community for young people in his hometown.

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65 Comments

  1. Old Dudes Wisdom - Life requires Wisdom Channel

    July 24, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    The things I find most beautiful about a person or thing are almost never physical 🖖

    • Kira Morris

      July 24, 2020 at 6:04 pm

      Same

    • Rajesh Kathiriya

      July 24, 2020 at 7:32 pm

      Somewhat same for me.

  2. kathryn bromfield

    July 24, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    Thank you ❤️

  3. M. Eren Ozyoldash

    July 24, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    So strong story

  4. Hayden H

    July 24, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    More dads = better kids.
    -Humanity

  5. END TIMES

    July 24, 2020 at 5:43 pm

    Yesterday is HISTORY. Tomorrow is a MYSTERY. Today is GODS GIFT. That’s why its called THE PRESENT!!!

  6. Higher Sofia

    July 24, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    Beautiful

  7. Step Tart

    July 24, 2020 at 5:48 pm

    White people are the most beautiful in the world.

  8. Travis Guy

    July 24, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    Words to live by; try not to be offensive, but try even harder to not be offended.

  9. Isaac Root

    July 24, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    Wow this man is incredible. The Thomas Jefferson one hit me

  10. Peter Laurence

    July 24, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    I find it beautiful when I watch a person pour their soul and time in doing the things they love.

  11. r s

    July 24, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    I needed this. Thank you.

  12. Bryan Peterson

    July 24, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    I appreciate you sir. Thank you to everyone who made this post possible.

  13. 585 Natural

    July 24, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    This is absolutely amazing ❤️❤️❤️

  14. Play4peace

    July 24, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    beauty is when you …yes you stranger …without knowing me …without judging me subscribe to my channel ❤

  15. Stephanie Elizabeth Mann

    July 24, 2020 at 7:20 pm

    Your work is beautiful. I will never understand not appreciate how precarious life is for people of colour living in America. I am sorry.

  16. Goy Goddess 2

    July 24, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    Maybe you should try checking out Bob Ross, l think he knows about painting all the “brown skin” colors.

  17. The Humble Hustle Show

    July 24, 2020 at 7:40 pm

    I’m attracted to big brainssss

  18. cucu banana

    July 24, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    nice to see racism and hate can be stylized, TED how much have you fallen…

  19. Moutaz Shams

    July 24, 2020 at 7:54 pm

    I believe all this is just politics

  20. Simon

    July 24, 2020 at 7:57 pm

    Yes, I think white women are the most beautiful!

    • Cercabene

      July 24, 2020 at 7:58 pm

      Lol

    • Cercabene

      July 24, 2020 at 7:59 pm

      So does all of Asia apparently

    • Simon

      July 24, 2020 at 8:00 pm

      Cercabene lol, beauty dosen’t lie

  21. Zenn Exile

    July 24, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    The virtue signal musk is strong with this one. They buzz about the comment section like eager flies to a warm poo milkshake. The slurping sounds reminiscent of an open air brothel for the mute and def. Enjoy this beautiful imagine I have painted upon your cortex in the language of boxed text. Slurp slurp.

    • Parker Gray, Realtor

      July 25, 2020 at 4:05 pm

      What a sad, insipid comment. Hopefully you can come to grips with your insecurities

    • Zenn Exile

      July 25, 2020 at 6:24 pm

      @Parker Gray, Realtor did you know this is how like 9 outa 10 people get screwed with on the internet? Just bustin in on something they don’t understand trying to take a position their eager emotions think they should support. Like a newFriend on the roodypoo network over there at 9gag postin when he shoulda been lurkin.

      I hope you didn’t have secrets.

    • Zenn Exile

      July 25, 2020 at 6:50 pm

      @Parker Gray, Realtor also whooooosh.

  22. LibertY

    July 24, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    SA 107 : Alexander Emelianenko vs Magomed Ismailov Full Battle on the channel
    !

  23. ปัญญา ฤกษ์สกุลชัย

    July 24, 2020 at 10:06 pm

    It know from who

  24. Semper Fortis

    July 25, 2020 at 1:17 am

    Can TED open their hearts to difficult comments, by not censoring black people and their voices?

    • -N7-

      July 25, 2020 at 7:02 am

      YouTube censores me and I’m white, stop making this about race. It’s the YouTube algorithm lol

    • Semper Fortis

      July 25, 2020 at 12:11 pm

      @-N7-
      Shouldn’t you be romancing an Ardat-Yakshi?

  25. Semper Fortis

    July 25, 2020 at 1:25 am

    TED CENSORED MY BLACK VOICE FOR CALLING BS….

    UNSUBSCRIBED!

  26. Brendan Guymer

    July 25, 2020 at 1:47 am

    Racist

  27. beatlesfreak89

    July 25, 2020 at 1:59 am

    This artwork is so beautiful and powerful. I felt emotionally moved and I kept thinking over and over again, “I really hope this is exhibited somewhere on the West Coast when we’re free to visit museums again.” People need to have more conversations. Art is a great way to begin.

  28. Jeremy Lopes

    July 25, 2020 at 2:36 am

    Genius right there imo ! Whether or not the main ideas comes from him, the result is real precious creativity. If I could I would buy from him. Titus Kaphar I am a fan. 12:55 Many scientists would agree

  29. Amanda Anderson

    July 25, 2020 at 4:10 am

    This is a conversation that needs to happen

  30. -N7-

    July 25, 2020 at 7:04 am

    Vurtue signalling.

  31. David Saintloth

    July 25, 2020 at 7:06 am

    Innovative, Brilliant work.

  32. A Person

    July 25, 2020 at 8:40 am

    My answer to the question posed in the title is “yes”

  33. Bella Andrade

    July 25, 2020 at 9:14 am

    Black dads are still absent.

  34. Alianger

    July 25, 2020 at 10:03 am

    I think to step into those european masters’ shoes he would have to work for an oppressive government like china, iran or russia. That’s the context those painters were working in, they couldn’t just paint what they wanted. Anyway I liked some of these a lot.

    • Lol

      July 25, 2020 at 11:32 am

      I agree with first part of your comment. We have painter is in prison for sexual education painting in a special 18+ group…

  35. Tropic Thunda Braddah

    July 25, 2020 at 10:30 am

    I always thought. The nervousness gives off a presence aka fear. Fear makes you worry which worrying too much drastically changes your thinking of approaching that person. Thinking too much is the same as worrying too much. Beauty doesnt do anything but attracts a persons attention and makes you think on your own perspective about the looks of it. Then you start to THINK. THINKING ruins confidence. Confidence burns down when you think too much. Just read this and listen. Dont think too much or you’ll have those small “maybe this” instead of the truth of my comment.

  36. Dave Kemp

    July 25, 2020 at 12:00 pm

    This post is beautiful… thank you for the post and your art.

  37. Tom's Ghost

    July 25, 2020 at 3:06 pm

    no, only language, grammar and context coupled with a willingness to learn and empathy can do so.

  38. Rajlakshmi Chavan

    July 25, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    this is beautiful.

  39. HugoCool

    July 25, 2020 at 4:18 pm

    Yeah probably there weren’t any formulas for your skin tones in the 1820’s because those artists were a bunch of racists and thought you were ugly..
    Because there were soooooooo many black people in France by that time…
    come on man, there probably weren’t many wealthy black patrons in that time, especially in France or the Netherlands.
    Probably if you looked in Greece or Italy there would have been a richer palette of skin tones.
    If there exists no formula how about you take it open yourself to create it and share it with the world instead of blaming people you don’t know..
    These baseless and useless accusations really distract from your message!
    I want to hear your solutions, not your self indulgent gripes with history.

  40. alarcon99

    July 25, 2020 at 6:43 pm

    We will continue to be diminished as a society as long as anyone is seen as less than simply because of the color of their skin.

  41. Jeremiah Walker

    July 25, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    💛

  42. Aigerim Khassenova

    July 26, 2020 at 5:55 am

    Thanks for clear and understandable speech, especially for non-native English speakers like me. How quietly and spiritually it’s told, not as a toungetwister that I listen to. The speech is provided from the heart, consequently it has entered into my heart, because there are comparable things with real life cases.

  43. S N.

    July 26, 2020 at 6:47 am

    Well-spoken, ingenious, and thought-provoking. Thank you for sharing your perspective and passions… your mind is truly beautiful.

  44. cara

    July 26, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    Absolutely beautiful

  45. Virgin_Mary _In_Islam

    July 26, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    Prophet Muhammad said : “Verily Allah does not look to your faces and your wealth but He looks to your heart and to your deeds”

    Reference : Sahih Muslim 2564

  46. Vance H

    July 26, 2020 at 11:40 pm

    Unity in Diversity.

  47. Roya Ebrahim

    July 27, 2020 at 4:20 am

  48. Olof Thorn

    July 27, 2020 at 6:19 am

    There are instructions for how to draw white skin because Europe has had a civilization that creates advanced arts for a long time. I’m sure that in China you can find instructions on how to draw the skin-tone of Chinese people. The lack of African artist is not due to oppression, it’s due to a lack of African high culture that produces that level of artists and art. Stop blaming white people for everything. Take responsibility and be the positive change. This guy has a lot of talent so write those instructions of how to draw dark skin. Be the positive change instead of blaming others for not doing it for you.

  49. Jim Meh

    July 27, 2020 at 8:53 am

    8:30 please address how “hands up Don’t shoot” is a propaganda tool that never actually happened. It’s a lie created to add flames to a narrative.
    I THOUGHT THIS CHANNEL WAS ABOUT ADDING POSITIVE TO THE WORLD NOT FALSE INFORMATION.

  50. Jim Meh

    July 27, 2020 at 8:55 am

    Any black person obsessed with history like this cannot be a happy person. how could you possibly obsess over any sort of negativity and be happy? Every single race throughout history has some bad stuff happen to them let alone bad stuff to individuals regardless of race. Living life everyday obsessing over sadness cannot be healthy.

  51. Sheila Sletmoe

    July 27, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    Our society needs beauty. Even though we all are drawn to people who are familiar to us – I believe in seeing the beauty in all people – both physical and character beauty. The cruelty and thoughtlessness of people …if only they could understand the beauty of creation and individuality of each human being. I love that you are acting on your belief about beauty and sharing it in communities where it is needed.

  52. Rain

    July 27, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    Much needed 🙌

  53. Fam Fam

    July 28, 2020 at 12:04 am

    This dude is a racist, painting over white people…

  54. Rebecca Leeman

    July 28, 2020 at 11:21 pm

    This guys good !

    Black Painters Matter

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