Invisible Man Ralph Ellison

Power is a strong force that can enlighten an individual, and blind another. Kehinde Wiley, a modern artist, uses visual art to portray his thoughts towards the racial power gap. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, is a novel that tackles the racial power struggle through a black man finding his place in society, and his race. Ellison and Wiley both use creative outlets to rebuke the social norm that is white supremacy and force their audience to understand acceptance. Dr. Bledsoe is the head of Invisible Man’s former college, a black college, and Ellison’s attempt to alter the social norms of power. Dr. Bledsoe’s position gives him power: he expels students, changes the curriculum, and keeps the entire school running every day. Normally white

One of his paintings is a rendition of “Napoleon Crossing the Alps.” Napoleon was a white, strong military and political leader during the French Revolution. In the painting, his power is displayed by his multiple by medals of achievement, his garments, and the color red which generally represent wealth, power, and nobility. He is a world renown leader and when he lost power it was not because he felt it was his time, he was pushed out: it was not “self-stopping.” Napoleon was a figure that contradicted every point that Dr. Bledsoe made about power, yet he was still looked upon as a strong leader, and highly praised. Kehinde Wiley took this famous painting of Napoleon and replaced him with a modern African American man wearing camouflage, Timberland boots, and a bandana. The man in this new painting is not displaying his power through his wealth, but the image manifests power. The powerful stance along with overall ambience of the painting forces the audience to accept that this man has a position of power. Instead of a red cloak, Wiley painted the man with a khakis colored cloak. Khakis is derived from the a Persian word that means soil; soil does not represent the wealthy class, but it represents the lower, working class. Wiley also placed the color red in the background, which creates a stronger ambience of power, and emphasizes the man on the horse. In this image the man “is the king” and no matter how much this painting references the original of Napoleon, the audience is forced to accept what is in front of them: power. Ellison wrote Dr. Bledsoe to be the leader at the school, and when the audience reads Invisible Man they are forced to accept that Dr. Bledsoe has power, and he is in a position of