figure 9

Adhering to stringent criteria for perfection entails a sacrifice of humanity, as it demands an unchanging, solid-like quality akin to a marble block. While the transition to a pedestal of new classicism may be viewed as liberating and empowering, transforming bodies into artworks, it also imposes a new form of confinement. This confinement limits black bodies to Eurocentric measurements of symmetry, and harmonious proportion, stripping away their humanity, reducing them to desirable objects of art. Enter the black onyx.