Duval-Carrie's Redefinition of a Genre

According to Bawarshi, “genres are discursive sites that coordinate the acquisition and production of motives by maintaining specific relations between scene, act, agent, agency, and purpose.” (Bawarshi, 17) In the literary world, genre ultimately provides us with conventions and standards by which we compare and categorize all texts. Edouard Duval-Carrié’s exhibit is a vivid display of colors and photorealistic images that culminate to provide perspective into the arts of the African Diaspora and perhaps challenge genre conventions with his use of multimedia. 

Duval-Carrie’s exhibit challenges notions of genre that we’ve been conditioned to, most specifically as they pertain to what can be defined as an artistic work.  “The genre function, thus, constitutes how individuals come to conceptualize and act within different situations, framing not only what Foucault calls a discourse’s mode of being, but also the mode of being of those who participate in the discourse.” (Bawarshi, 23) The artwork truly sets itself apart not only with its use of vibrant color and translucent surfaces, but with it’s ability to draw together separate images and allow them to work as a whole. Duval-Carrie makes use of realistic visuals of black and Caribbean people alongside images that are hand drawn and painted, ultimately challenging the constraints of what defines an artistic piece.

He also managed to simultaneously address and challenge the constraints proposed to blacks at the time period, particularly in their ability to create. And in some ways he deconstructs our ideals of what is considered “black art” and calls on us to think of it as universal in its ability to inspire the modern culture as a whole. The artist makes a point that his works walk the fine line between what is secular and intellectual, and then the religious with his inclusion of some voodoo and Catholic elements and symbols. For all intents and purposes, some could say that Duval-Carrie’s exhibit exists as an artistic paradox, representing a wide range of mediums and ideals that are difficult to place into a single genre.

In many ways this exhibit reflects the sublime, mainly because it adheres to the sources of sublimity in its presentation and context. Longinous states that “the first and most important power [in the sources of sublimity] is the power to conceive great thoughts;” (350) This reflects strongly in the artist’s ability to expand beyond the constraints of genre previously discussed. “The second is strong and inspired emotion” (350), which is demonstrated strongly though the artist’s meticulous use of color, along with gripping visuals. This allows the work to not only reflect the intense emotion of the artist, but evoke a similar sensation from the audience as well.