{"product_id":"wangechi-mutu-this-you-call-civilization-9781894243643","title":"Wangechi Mutu: This You Call Civilization?","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlack women: ideas of beauty  ideas of strength  unapologetic. A thumb pushes on teeth. Jewelled eyes  misplaced lips  and masks of black glitter expose the complexity and falsity of the modern representational world. Born in Nairobi  living in New York  Wangechi Mutu is known for her painting  sculpture  film  and performance work in which she does anything but shy away from critiquing the modern gaze. Rather  she focuses squarely on calling a spade a spade: the Orientalist way the West looks at the African-American woman  the exaltation of consumerism  and the role of technology (and its intersection with humanity) in the modern age. Mutu is neither neutral nor exploratory; at times  she offers the visual equivalent of an indictment. Mutus protagonists  tribal and technological  wonderfully proud yet ceaselessly oppressed  both blossom and collapse. Driven by contradiction  they draw us in. Published in 2010 to accompany Mutus first major exhibition in North America  This You Call Civilization? features reproductions of her major works on paper  large-scale installations  and stills from videos as well as essays by David Moos  Jennifer Gonzales  Michelle Jacques  Odili Donald Odita  Raphael Rubinstein  Carol Thompson  and Rinaldo Walcott. Interleaved between the essays are excerpts from books  selected by Mutu  about brutal colonial repression  the Harlem Renaissance  and the Rwandan genocide.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45495998349365,"sku":"ByrdShop_1894243641","price":166.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781894243643.jpg?v=1780905831","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/wangechi-mutu-this-you-call-civilization-9781894243643","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}