Tanya Mosley

I'm Tanya Mosley, and my next guest is contemporary painter, sculptor, and installation artist Titus Kaffar. He's known for taking classical forms of art and deconstructing them by cutting, crumpling, shredding, stitching, tarring, twisting, and binding to reveal hidden truths that challenge historical narratives.

His art provokes, forcing the viewer to confront the erasure of Black Americans from our historical narrative. Take his 2014 painting Behind the Myth of Benevolence, a portrait of Thomas Jefferson, peeling away to reveal Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman Jefferson owned.

His art provokes, forcing the viewer to confront the erasure of Black Americans from our historical narrative. Take his 2014 painting Behind the Myth of Benevolence, a portrait of Thomas Jefferson, peeling away to reveal Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman Jefferson owned.

His art provokes, forcing the viewer to confront the erasure of Black Americans from our historical narrative. Take his 2014 painting Behind the Myth of Benevolence, a portrait of Thomas Jefferson, peeling away to reveal Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman Jefferson owned.

His 2020 Time magazine cover, Analogous Colors, depicted a mother holding the silhouette of a child, which Kaffar created by cutting into the canvas. The image references George Floyd calling out to his mother during his arrest in Final Moments.

His 2020 Time magazine cover, Analogous Colors, depicted a mother holding the silhouette of a child, which Kaffar created by cutting into the canvas. The image references George Floyd calling out to his mother during his arrest in Final Moments.

His 2020 Time magazine cover, Analogous Colors, depicted a mother holding the silhouette of a child, which Kaffar created by cutting into the canvas. The image references George Floyd calling out to his mother during his arrest in Final Moments.

Kaphar, whose paintings and installation art can be found in some of the world's most prestigious museums, has now taken his vision to the big screen, deconstructing his own life with his directorial debut, a raw and deeply personal film titled... Exhibiting Forgiveness.

Kaphar, whose paintings and installation art can be found in some of the world's most prestigious museums, has now taken his vision to the big screen, deconstructing his own life with his directorial debut, a raw and deeply personal film titled... Exhibiting Forgiveness.

Kaphar, whose paintings and installation art can be found in some of the world's most prestigious museums, has now taken his vision to the big screen, deconstructing his own life with his directorial debut, a raw and deeply personal film titled... Exhibiting Forgiveness.

It's about a celebrated painter whose carefully constructed world unravels when his estranged father, a recovering addict seeking redemption, suddenly reappears in his life. It's a searing exploration of forgiveness, asking us who deserves it, who owes it, and at what cost. Titus, welcome to Fresh Air.

It's about a celebrated painter whose carefully constructed world unravels when his estranged father, a recovering addict seeking redemption, suddenly reappears in his life. It's a searing exploration of forgiveness, asking us who deserves it, who owes it, and at what cost. Titus, welcome to Fresh Air.

It's about a celebrated painter whose carefully constructed world unravels when his estranged father, a recovering addict seeking redemption, suddenly reappears in his life. It's a searing exploration of forgiveness, asking us who deserves it, who owes it, and at what cost. Titus, welcome to Fresh Air.

If I'm not mistaken, this idea for the film was originally a documentary, right? How did it turn into a feature film?

If I'm not mistaken, this idea for the film was originally a documentary, right? How did it turn into a feature film?

If I'm not mistaken, this idea for the film was originally a documentary, right? How did it turn into a feature film?

Why? What was it about it?

Why? What was it about it?

Why? What was it about it?

This changed your creative process because you were writing and also painting this story at the same time. This was the first time you had actually done something like this.