Intertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can refer to an author’s borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader’s referencing of one text in reading another. It reminds us that text exists and relates to each other. As critic William Irwin says, the term “has come to have almost as many meanings as users, from those faithful to Kristeva’s original vision to those who simply use it as a stylish way of talking about allusion and influences” (Irwin, 228).
Wiley’s paintings always stand between traditional and contemporary art. Wiley first references old master pieces and than creates combination with modern subject, which is realistic. He ranges from French rococo, West African textile and human to design a urban hip-hop and Sea Foam Green. Rich green, red and Gold is the interior colour palate.
The model in the painting is the young men who Wiley finds on the street mostly from Harlem’s 125th Street and from South Central neighborhood where he was born. The painting embrace French rococo and hip – hop culture. The pose of figures mostly from contemporary hip – hop culture as from Renaissance paintings.
In his Passing/Posing paintings, Wiley reshapes and plays with popular constructions of Black masculinity, giving new meaning to old poses and historical context to contemporary style. The artist was driven by several provocative questions: "How is it that they arrived in these poses? What are they passing for? What is this universe that's being created?"
