Is heВ predatory because he paints his subjects in a sexualized manner? Because heвЂ™s also a man, painting them in a sexualized manner? Because they might even have sex? How is any of this not homophobic? The same goes for the bear of a fellow in Napoleon Leading the Army Over the Alps, which could be subtitled вЂњ (Through a Light Ejaculate Mist).вЂќ Saint Andrew grinds his crotch against a wooden cross, and in case we donвЂ™t quite get it, Wiley has painted free-floating spermatozoa across the canvas.

What Wiley and his subjects do behind the scenes may be none of our business, but his paintings kiss and tell. So, is Wiley predatory because he invites men whom he meets on the street into his studioВ -В aВ perfectly legitimate and widespread artistic practice? Straining to legitimize this method, Brooklyn Museum curator Eugenie Tsai lauds the artist in the exhibition catalog for вЂњthe subjectвЂ™s active participationвЂќ in a вЂњcollaborative encounter вЂ¦ co-produced by the subject and the artist.вЂќ Once in the studio, Wiley presents his model with art-history books and asks him to choose which painting heвЂ™d like to be in. вЂњI donвЂ™t ask people what their sexualities are, but thereвЂ™s a sense in which male beauty is being negotiated.вЂќ вЂњWhen IвЂ™m approaching these guys, thereвЂ™s a presupposed engagement,вЂќ Wiley said in the 2008 Art Newspaper interview. In the early 2000s, after he graduated from Yale, Wiley did a residency at the Studio Museum and began inviting men he met on the streets into his studio to pose.

It seems to have to do with the fact thatВ the male subjects in WileyвЂ™s paintings are sexualized - an immediate red flag given the long, ugly history in this countryВ of gay menВ being labeledВ sexual predators.ДЄnd then there is WileyвЂ™s casting-couch method. Well, as you might have guessed, itвЂ™s not entirely clear.

What is DawsonвЂ™s argument for WileyвЂ™s вЂњpredatory behaviorвЂќ? Surely calling someone predatory is a serious allegation, one that should be backed up by something like proof, or at the very least a rock solid argument.

The village voice very village voicey