“Abstraction is Power”: Abstraction and Affect in Mark Bradford’s Work
Résumé
This paper explores the way Mark Bradford, an African-American contemporary artist, reflects on the power of
abstraction in his work. His multi-faceted visual production is deeply grounded in abstraction, an aesthetic mode he envisions as a way
of responding to the grand tradition of Abstract Expressionism in the United States, as well as a way of commenting on the sociopolitical situation of his country. His works seek to affect the viewers physically in order to lead to political awareness. Bradford writes
his own history of art, one which seeks to reconcile abstraction and social concerns. This paper explor