HUM FPX 1150 Assessment 4 Creative Process of Interpreting and Creating Cultural Artifacts

Creative Process of Interpreting and Creating Cultural Artifacts

Student Name

Capella University

HUM-FPX1150

Professor Name

Submission Date

Introduction

Mirror culture is one way to go against the assumption in art. Humans have a strong connection with art, not only as artists, but also as consumers ((Busch et al., 2025). I discuss here the painting Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, by Kehinde Wiley, which is a re-interpretation of a classic European masterpiece, and a center-insertion of an African American. This analysis discusses the role of culture and artistic expression in human thinking, working together, and in thinking individually about the creative process; and the role of discourse and interpretation in the expansion of the idea of knowledge in personal and communal experience.

Reflection on Cultural Influence and Future Impact

Cultural expression has the power to change identity, power, and representation, as seen in Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps by Kehinde Wiley. A black artist, Kehinde Wiley, uses hyper-vibrant large-scale portraiture techniques to portray classical European portraiture and injects his models with the modern African cultural identity (Regmi, 2025). The reinterpretation of an artwork can impact human perception by enhancing the inclusiveness and receptivity of the image of race, history, and leadership that can be associated with it. What this piece of work could lead to is one day the ability to critically reflect upon those whose stories are saved and revered, and conduct that defies stereotypes and supports a fairer and more equitable representation of humans in art and society.

Collaborative and Individual Efforts in Wiley’s Work

One of the works has teamwork & personal imagination, Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps by Kehinde Wiley. He often begins his line of questioning with an invitation to a common African American man and woman to pose, who can then select the outfit and attitude they wish to portray, making them a part of the great tradition of European portraits. This collaboration element is a guarantee that the identification of the subjects matters in the final doesn’t disappear in the historical prototype. At the same time, Wiley takes up bold color, elaborate background, and rethought symbolism, demonstrating his personal introduction of a new definition of power and visibility.

Wiley, in his painting, Napoleon Leading the Army Over the Alps, positions the young black man in his place, as an example of the failure of the historical depictions of relations between races and power (Regmi, 2025). This contradiction is the protest of traditional history, which is the main part of the history of art, substituted with the contemporary identity that takes its place and is recognized.

Creative Process and Core Skills

The ability to integrate self, social awareness, relationship-building, and problem-solving is seen in the problem-solving process of Kehinde Wiley. Also chronicled in his work is this problem-solving process in how he reframes the Eurocentric view of art traditions in order to face the absence of black people in that tradition with creative solutions to classic and modern identity. The most central aspect of his work is establishing relationships, such as working with the people from the community who sit for his portraits, to establish trust and allow them to have a sense of agency towards the final product. He is very conscious of himself and his social environment, which is the most influential. He is sensitive towards his own cultural heritage, as well as towards the inequalities between the different groups of cultures, depending on the system.

The artist likes to place his objects within the prism of confidence and majesty (King, 2023). Likewise, Wiley methods can be incorporated into personal and professional goals in the realm of inclusivity, diversity appreciation, and reconsideration of traditional methods. Academic group projects are similar in that the balance between problem-solving and social interaction is the same as Wiley’s, but in this form of group work, social interaction occurs in the context of a creative problem-solving experience.

Interpretive Process as Collaboration

More interactive is the interpretive process in a group approach that offers members the opportunity to offer their interpretation based on their personal and cultural points of view. The scenes of Wiley are not quiet landscapes, rural scenes, or allegorical backgrounds, but a sense of vitality and nature that is created through using bright colors and leaves (King, 2023). This discussion furthered the notion that the selections of decoration that Wiley makes obliterate stereotypes and empower his subjects. It was a pleasure to have this debate, as we did find a point of common ground with the same ideas about representation and empowerment of art.

It was also an expression of a willingness to appreciate the identity of culture on each other’s terms, leading to an appreciation of both respondents’ value of diversity and inclusiveness. This directed interpretation not only served to further the analysis of the work by Wiley, but also that of others in how personal experiences have impacted the appreciation of the artwork.

Conclusion

In this sense, art can be said to be as well as doing things to the viewer, done for the viewer. Kehinde Wiley’s Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps is an example of the ways in which art is made, for the viewer, and by the viewer. Wiley takes an iconic photo and applies modern updates to the look for identity, strength, and representation. He is not only problem-solving and self-reflective, but culturally savvy, and his reinterpretation suggests a conversational exchange that invites the reader’s own interpretations. Art has the power to provoke ideas, insight, and to foster connection and community, regardless of circumstances