"The first major catalogue of contemporary Black American collage, Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Art brings together over sixty-five works of art by fifty artists that reflect the breadth and complexity of Black identity. Rather than casting their work solely in terms of a racial discourse that often portrays African Americans as a monolith, these artists employ collage to convey the intersecting facets of their lived experiences that combine to make whole individuals. Building on a technique that has roots in European and American traditions-used by canonical figures from Picasso and Hannah Höch to Robert Rauschenberg and Romare Bearden-the artists have assembled pieces of paper, photographs, fabrics, and other often salvaged materials to create unified compositions that express the endless possibilities of Black-constructed narratives despite the fragmentation of our times. As artist Deborah Roberts asserts, "With collage, I can create a more expansive and inclusive view of the Black cultural experience." In addition to eight scholarly essays, the book features 140 color images of work by artists including McArthur Binion, Mark Bradford, Zoë Charlton, Tomashi Jackson, Arthur Jafa, Rashid Johnson, Yashua Klos, Kerry James Marshall, Wangechi Mutu, Lovie Olivia, Ebony Patterson, Howardena Pindell, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Deborah Roberts, Tschabalala Self, Devan Shimoyama, David Shrobe, Lorna Simpson, Nyugen Smith, Paul Anthony Smith, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker, and others. Short biographies written by honor students at Fisk University accompany each artist's entry, concluding a comprehensive and inclusive look at collage today"--