“To make these wrongs turn right / Head up high, I look to the light,” sings Kanye West, the enigmatic rapper, in his hit song “Ultralight Beam” (2016). West was singing to God, questioning him about racism and unfairness in society, which is reason enough for the American artist Arthur Jafa, who is Black, to choose it as a soundtrack for this video installation. Collages of Black artists, scholars, athletes, and politicians are mixed with episodes of physical brutality and spiritual transcendence. In myriad images and voices, Jafa creates a kaleidoscope of history, tradition, and injustice. —E.C.

Love is the Message, The Message is Death
Dallas Museum of Art
1717 N Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75201, USA
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