Black Meme: The History of the Images that Make Us

(Hardback)

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Images of blackness have become important in our understanding of the modern world because they reflect and shape the way black people are perceived and represented. In Black Meme Legacy Russell explores the role of these images in the construction of black identity and visual culture, from the early days of film and photography to the digital age. The first ever film was a black jockey riding a horse in 1887. The very first screen kiss was between two black actors in Lime Kiln Day, 1913. Black Meme also explores lynching postcards that were common in the 1920s, the image of Emmot Till's body in the casket and Trayvon's hoodie, the grainy video of Rodney King and the gloss of Michael Jackson' Thriller, Diamond Reynolds's Facebook live recording of her boyfriend's killing by the police, and Beyonce's Formation. Legacy Russell, the award winning author of Glitch Feminism, explores the power of these tokens and argues that without the contributions of black people, digital culture would not exist in its current form.

Reviews

Grounded in theory (from Edouard Glissant to Donna Haraway) but a fast, percussive read, [Glitch Feminism] is also a guide to the growing field of art practices-notably driven by Black and queer creators-that dissolve the boundary between 'internet art' and physical performance, activism and community-building. -- Siddhartha Mitter * New York Times [for Glitch Feminism] *
A gorgeous document of a number of mostly Black trans, queer, and gender-nonconforming artists working today * Book Forum [for Glitch Feminism] *
Offers wry insights into the opportunities inherent in the implications of formerly discarded traces of both ourselves and our culture. This fascinating, profound and engrossing book places Legacy Russell as one of the more provocative, radical and original thinkers of her generation -- Lynn Hershman Leeson * [for Glitch Feminism] *
Takes us on a lightening tour through the terminologies and theories of AFK, IRL, Glitch Ghosts, Digital Dualism, Binary Bodies, and other markers in the current lingo of on-line criticism. She translates the Internet world as she lives it right now. Russell is an important writer to follow as she points out shifting viewpoints of Internet politics in real time -- RoseLee Goldberg, Director of Performa * [for Glitch Feminism] *
A vital new manifesto and Russell's research as a curator breaks new ground on themes of gender, performance, digital selfdom, internet idolatry, and new-media ritual. -- Artnet News * [for Glitch Feminism] *

Author Bio

Legacy Russell is a curator and writer. Born and raised in New York City, she is the Executive Director & Chief Curator at The Kitchen. Formerly she was the Associate Curator of Exhibitions at The Studio Museum in Harlem. She holds an MRes with Distinction in Art History from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her written work, interviews, and essays have been published internationally. She is the recipient of the Thoma Foundation 2019 Arts Writing Award in Digital Art, a 2020 Rauschenberg Residency Fellow, and a recipient of the 2021 Creative Capital Award. Her first book Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto (2020) is published by Verso Books.