Tony Cokes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tony Cokes
Cokes pictured in 2024
Born	1956 (age 68–69) Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Education	Goddard College Virginia Commonwealth University (MFA)
Occupation	Visual artist, educator

Tony Cokes (born in 1956) is an American artist and teacher. He creates art that makes people think.

Tony Cokes's Early Life and School

Tony Cokes was born in Richmond, Virginia. He went to Goddard College to study photography and creative writing. Later, he earned a master's degree in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1985.

Tony Cokes's Art Career

In 1995, Tony Cokes joined with artists Renee Cox and Fo Wilson. They formed the Negro Art Collective (NAC). Their goal was to challenge wrong ideas about Black Americans in art and culture.

How Tony Cokes Makes Art

Tony Cokes's art often looks at popular culture and entertainment. In the 1990s, he was part of a band called X-PRZ.

He makes videos that are like visual essays. He uses parts of different writings on colorful backgrounds. These videos are set to popular music. He mixes quotes from many sources. These include ideas from thinkers, cultural studies, art reviews, and news. Some of his sources are Malcolm X and the music group Public Enemy.

In 1988, Cokes made a video called Black Celebration; a rebellion against the commodity. He used old news videos of riots in Black neighborhoods from the 1960s. He added 1980s industrial music and text. Cokes wanted to show that these events were not just criminal. He wanted people to see them as a form of rebellion. He is interested in how violence is shown when regular people, not the government, are involved.

In this video, Cokes puts old news clips next to written comments. These comments are from people like Guy Debord and Barbara Kruger. Cokes uses text to talk about how race is seen in America. He also shows the money problems caused by these ideas. One part of the video shows a quote from Guy Debord. It talks about how stealing food when you have no electricity shows the lie of wealth. Later, the music has echoing voices. These voices sound like the empty, burned-out buildings shown in the video. Cokes's art can be unsettling. It makes viewers question what they think they know.

An art critic named William S. Smith said that Cokes's art lets him react to current events. It also lets him keep exploring race in popular culture. Even though it was made in 1988, this video still feels important today. It connects to the Black Lives Matter movement. It also relates to recent police violence against the Black community. Cokes's work highlights how the media often shows protests as violent. This happens even when violent incidents are rare. His art asks what a true protest is. It shows that the line between protest and rioting is not always clear.

Tony Cokes as a Teacher

Tony Cokes teaches at Brown University. He lives and works in Providence, Rhode Island. He gave an online lecture at his old school, Virginia Commonwealth University, in March 2021.

Awards and Special Recognitions

In 2024, Tony Cokes was given a special award. He was named a MacArthur Fellow. This award is given to very talented people.

Tony Cokes's Art Shows

Tony Cokes's art has been shown in many famous places. These include the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His work has also been seen at the Studio Museum in Harlem. He was part of the 10th Berlin Biennale art show. His art has been displayed at the Whitechapel Gallery and ZKM Karlsruhe.

Cokes is represented by Greene Naftali Gallery in New York. In 2019, his work was shown at The Shed. Recently, he had solo shows at CIRCA in London (2021) and the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (2020). He also had shows at ARGOS center for audiovisual arts in Brussels (2020) and the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester (2021).