Kris Graves: Privileged Mediocrity – Memorialization in America

Arcadia Exhibitions is pleased to present “Kris Graves: Privileged Mediocrity – Memorialization in America” from August 19, 2024 – February 9, 2025 in the Rosedale Gallery, University Commons.

Curated by Matthew Borgen with assistance from Willow Edmonds ’26, the exhibition features artworks from Graves’ recent project “Privileged Mediocrity,” which illustrate the impact of racism and power on the nation’s built environments.

The show consists of 7 paired photographs; 14 prints total. One half depicts publicly funded memorials of Southern Generals from the American Civil War, documented immediately after the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, showing graffiti-covered statues with some already removed from their pedestals. The other half features prints from a sub-series titled A Bleak Reality, where Graves captures images of the exact locations where unarmed Black men were killed by police officers. These photographs document a more organic form of memorialization through temporary murals or the placement of stuffed animals, flowers, and other ephemera.

The repetition of these paired images highlight the necessity for public discourse about the ongoing struggle over control of historic narratives within public spaces, and how power and wealth influence who is memorialized, how, and why.

Graves will lecture on his work on October 29, 2024 at 6:00PM in the Great Room, University Commons. Light refreshments will be available in the Rosedale Gallery immediately afterwards. The event is free and open to the public.

PRIVILEGED MEDIOCRITY
“Privileged Mediocrity” examines systemic unfairness in the United States. Using a mix of conceptual and documentary photographic practices, I reacted to the subtleties of societal power and its impact on the built environment of America and the construction of public and private space. The ideas within explore how racism, capitalism, and power have shaped our country — and how that can be seen and experienced in everyday life.

A BLEAK REALITY
“A Bleak Reality” is a series of eight photographs taken at the exact locations where unarmed Black men were killed by police officers. While each photo represents a single life and death, they collectively address the broader issues of institutionalized racism and violence against the Black community, especially Black men. These social divisions and the startling lack of empathy are exacerbated by perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Kris Graves traveled across the country to document the physical spaces where these lives ended, spaces that continue to be replaced by new tragedies. This reality is measured not only in numbers or statistics but in individual lives.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kris Graves (b. 1982 New York, NY) is an artist and publisher based in New York and California. Graves creates artwork that deals with societal problems and aims to use art as a means to inform people about cultural issues. Using a mix of conceptual and documentary practices, Graves photographs the subtleties of societal power and its impact on the built environment. He explores how capitalism and power have shaped countries– and how that can be seen and experienced in everyday life. Graves also works to elevate the representation of people of color in the fine art canon; and to create opportunities for conversation about race, representation, and urban life. He photographs to preserve memory.

Graves attended S.U.N.Y. Purchase College (BFA, Visual Arts) and has been published and exhibited globally, including Museum of Modern Art, New York; Getty Institute, Los Angeles; and National Portrait Gallery in London, England; among others. Permanent collections include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Getty Institute, Schomburg Center, Whitney Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Brooklyn Museum; and The Wedge Collection, Toronto; amongst others.