Mark

In Mark, Kendell Carter pulls together visual elements of street culture with the stylized nameplate necklace. Hung from the hook is a hooded sweatshirt, or “hoodie.” The nameplate necklace and hoodie can be seen as two aesthetic markers in the realm of hip-hop culture. Carter gives the nameplate a heightened level of glamour and design by enlarging and removing it from its everyday hip-hop context. Not only can Mark be seen as a name, it also can be understood for its vernacular meaning, “making a visible trace on an object.” In slang, mark can be synonymous with sucker, and in street culture, a graffiti tag is called a “mark.” Through this work, Carter reveals similarities of street art and high design, mashing up the aesthetic, cultural, and social qualities of these seemingly different worlds.

Credit: Museum purchase with funds from the Mark and Hilarie Moore Family Trust