Enuma Okoro Publishes an Essay titled “Art Can Change How We Understand the World” in the Financial Times

Enuma Okoro, lecturer at Bard College Berlin, has recently published an essay titled “Art Can Change How We Understand the World” in the Financial Times. Focusing on pieces ranging from 16th century painting all the way through contemporary photography, she reflects on the interaction between art and its observer. Okoro examines how our perception of art works shapes the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us.

She begins with focusing on a painting by François Bunel the Younger, a court painter for King Henry IV of France, titled The Confiscation of the Contents of an Art Dealer’s Gallery (1590), which reminds Okoro, that “throughout history people have recognised the power of art, and figures in authority have felt threatened by certain works that pose a challenge to their ideologies.” 

Then she examines Shifting the Gaze (2017) by Titus Kaphar, a contemporary American artist and filmmaker. The painting was created during his TED Talk “Can Art Amend History?” in which he recreated a Dutch 17th century family portrait, leaving visible only a young Black boy, presumably the family’s servant. According to Okoro, this work may prompt the viewer “to learn more about how art can be a tool used to inspire a better understanding of how the past histories of others affect all our histories.”

Okoro wraps up her article with an analysis of a photograph made by a contemporary German artist Thomas Struth, Louvre 2, Paris (1989), which depicts “elementary school children sitting together on the floor at the Louvre looking at works of art with their teacher.”

Okoro concludes her article with a look ahead, arguing that “access to art that covers a range of themes from across cultures and time periods is essential for generating productive ideas for the future. Our shared humanity includes a collective shared history that can help inform how we create our future.”

The entire essay can be accessed in the Financial Times. 

Post Date: 11-13-2025