Wednesday, November 15, 2017
6 Artists on Black Identity
"Where am I in this story?" Watch artists such as Wangechi Mutu, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Chimamanda Adichie discuss how black people are (mis-)represented in today's society and culture. The following artists are featured: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kerry James Marshall, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Sammy Baloji, Taiye Selasi, and Wangechi Mutu.
Because I enjoyed viewing, listening to, and revisiting this piece from the Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, I wanted to share it with followers. ...Short but packed with truths.
Monday, October 16, 2017
RESPONSE to York College RE: "Rewind by Paul Rucker"
Currently on view at York College of Pennsylvania, Rewind by Paul Rucker has been "limited to students, faculty, staff, and selected invited guests." This powerful exhibition with a race based focus has been deemed "controversial." It includes a collection of Ku Klux Klan robes in various colors of both solid and print fabrics, including traditional African patterns. There are also pieces of racist ephemera that includes lynching postcards and Klan newspapers.
Limiting the viewership of Rewind screams missed opportunity for York College of Pennsylvania. Supporting this exhibition to the fullest extent would have demonstrated a leadership role in the community by providing a platform for positive engagement between the student body, faculty, and the local community. This could have been a big win and a victory for the college. It is unfortunate that the administration of York College was not willing to face and embrace the tough topics around racism, violence, hate crimes, and the inequitable treatment of blacks as American citizens. Black Art Project (BAP) was appalled at the level of sensitivity and uncomfortableness at an institution of higher learning who chose to deny access of a wider audience to view the creative expression exhibited by Rucker's Rewind. Such creative expression offers an opportunity for engagement and dialogue on social, political, and
racially charged issues. Rewind could serve as part of a catalyst for change and growth, resulting in healing and resolution of some racial issues.
In a case such as this, we must ask the hard question of whether this represents a form of censorship? BAP's response to that question would be an unequivocal yes. Although the exhibition has remained intact without the removal of any items, censorship occurs when materials, such as those in an art exhibition, are restricted to a particular audience based on any characteristic deemed by authorities, in this case at York College, as appropriate for establishing the restriction. In the case of Rewind, access has been "limited to students, faculty, staff, and selected invited guests." Bear in mind, that the York College Galleries has an open access policy which is stated on their website: "We invite you to see our ongoing free public exhibitions!" Further, "All events are free and open to the public."
Rather than limiting access to the exhibition, BAP would have preferred reading that York College created a number of accompanying programs, proceeding and after the installation of the exhibition, that prepared the viewer to clearly understand the meaning and thought behind the artist's intent. The college could have gone even further by providing dialogue that included an intended educational context of the exhibition for York College and its communities.
Although only seen by a limited audience at York College, Paul Rucker has had a positive exhibition simply by the fact that his creative expression elicited some unease and discomfort, and has gained some positive press and support on social media platforms. Although this exhibition is ending in a few days, BAP hopes that in the future, the college thinks seriously about embracing an exhibition such as this, and provide support for it on the college's website, provide an opportunity for an extensive interview with the artist by a professor and/or student, sponsor a panel discussion which would be open to all communities, and publish a fully illustrated catalogue that includes critical essays. It is a bit late to do any of this for Rewind during the remaining time that it is on view at York College. However, for this current exhibition, York College's administration could offer Paul Rucker a public apology. It would be a decent and honorable gesture at this time, particularly after having invited him to their campus to exhibit his works, then limiting access to the exhibition.
Further readings:
REWIND exhibition by by Paul Rucker
Hate, social injustice take center stage in York College exhibit called 'Rewind'
A College Decided That This Anti-Racist Art Show Was Too ‘Provocative’ for the Public
American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q and A
Limiting the viewership of Rewind screams missed opportunity for York College of Pennsylvania. Supporting this exhibition to the fullest extent would have demonstrated a leadership role in the community by providing a platform for positive engagement between the student body, faculty, and the local community. This could have been a big win and a victory for the college. It is unfortunate that the administration of York College was not willing to face and embrace the tough topics around racism, violence, hate crimes, and the inequitable treatment of blacks as American citizens. Black Art Project (BAP) was appalled at the level of sensitivity and uncomfortableness at an institution of higher learning who chose to deny access of a wider audience to view the creative expression exhibited by Rucker's Rewind. Such creative expression offers an opportunity for engagement and dialogue on social, political, and
 |
| Paul Rucker’s “REWIND” exhibition at the York College Art Galleries. Courtesy of Ryan Stevenson. |
In a case such as this, we must ask the hard question of whether this represents a form of censorship? BAP's response to that question would be an unequivocal yes. Although the exhibition has remained intact without the removal of any items, censorship occurs when materials, such as those in an art exhibition, are restricted to a particular audience based on any characteristic deemed by authorities, in this case at York College, as appropriate for establishing the restriction. In the case of Rewind, access has been "limited to students, faculty, staff, and selected invited guests." Bear in mind, that the York College Galleries has an open access policy which is stated on their website: "We invite you to see our ongoing free public exhibitions!" Further, "All events are free and open to the public."
Rather than limiting access to the exhibition, BAP would have preferred reading that York College created a number of accompanying programs, proceeding and after the installation of the exhibition, that prepared the viewer to clearly understand the meaning and thought behind the artist's intent. The college could have gone even further by providing dialogue that included an intended educational context of the exhibition for York College and its communities.
Although only seen by a limited audience at York College, Paul Rucker has had a positive exhibition simply by the fact that his creative expression elicited some unease and discomfort, and has gained some positive press and support on social media platforms. Although this exhibition is ending in a few days, BAP hopes that in the future, the college thinks seriously about embracing an exhibition such as this, and provide support for it on the college's website, provide an opportunity for an extensive interview with the artist by a professor and/or student, sponsor a panel discussion which would be open to all communities, and publish a fully illustrated catalogue that includes critical essays. It is a bit late to do any of this for Rewind during the remaining time that it is on view at York College. However, for this current exhibition, York College's administration could offer Paul Rucker a public apology. It would be a decent and honorable gesture at this time, particularly after having invited him to their campus to exhibit his works, then limiting access to the exhibition.
Further readings:
REWIND exhibition by by Paul Rucker
Hate, social injustice take center stage in York College exhibit called 'Rewind'
A College Decided That This Anti-Racist Art Show Was Too ‘Provocative’ for the Public
American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q and A
Monday, August 7, 2017
Artist Talk: Titus Kaphar...Can Art Amend History?
"Titus Kaphar makes paintings and sculptures that wrestle with the struggles of the past while speaking to the diversity and advances of the present. In an unforgettable live workshop, Kaphar takes a brush full of white paint to a replica of a 17th-century Frans Hals painting, obscuring parts of the composition and bringing its hidden story into view. There is a narrative coded in art like this, Kaphar says. What happens when we shift our focus and confront unspoken truths?"
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
BAP: Celebrating Seven Years on Twitter
For seven years (2004-2010), I compiled and published the print version of the Guide to Black Art Exhibitions (ISSN
1559-5129) through the Black Art Project (BAP). A number of those archival print editions are accessible online via Scribd. In addition, select print editions of the Guide are a
part of the reference or archival collections of such institutions as the Library of
Congress, Smithsonian American Art/Portrait Gallery Library, Hirshhorn Museum
and Sculpture Garden Library, the New York Public Library (Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture), Chicago Public Library, the David C. Driskell
Center at the University of Maryland, Detroit Public Library, Newark Public
Library, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), and others.
After the print version of the Guide ceased publication, I had to create another vehicle through which I could channel information relating to Black art exhibitions. To achieve that goal, I looked toward creating a blog page that would focus on a large, but select number of exhibitions during any given year. In addition to the blog page, I decided that each exhibition would be announced via Twitter at some time during its exhibition cycle. Twitter would become the marketing informational source. In the beginning of this social media venture, I committed myself to learning how Twitter might afford me an opportunity to connect with an inter-generational group of readers from a cross-section of the world. The goal was to greatly expand and grow the readership beyond those readers who had access to the print publication. With that as my focus, I was open to explore and made a personal commitment to try Twitter for a year to determine if it would meet BAP needs of sharing and connecting more readers to the world of Black visual artists.
June 20th marked seven years, that I said hello to a new adventure (Twitter), not having the slightest idea of how to implement the goal that I had conceived and envisioned. Back in June of 2010, I was willing to face a bigger challenge that required me to stretch my skill set in a direction of becoming familiar with new platforms to share information electronically. Within a few months, I was comfortable with Twitter and am still learning the vocabulary and symbols of this micro-blogging tool as an informational source. From the beginning, it has been and will remain my intent to focus 90-95% of the tweets towards the visual arts, covering all aspects of the art world.
The success of creating and promoting an online Guide to Black Art Exhibitions did not simply rest in my enhancing my technological skills as a blogger, but is based to an even larger extent on a large number of individuals, groups, and organizations that follow BAP on the Blog and particularly on Twitter. Their consistent willingness to like, mention, retweet, and share tweets to their circle of friends, family, acquaintances, and others have been greatly appreciated. I look at those followers as a part of an international family who mutually support Black visual artists, and understand their importance and the impact that they have made to enhance the quality of the visual experience. So, I personally thank all BAP followers for any support that you have provided over the past seven years. It has been greatly appreciated. #gratitude #SupportBlackArtists
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Terry Dixon: Kinetic Abstraction
 |
| Terry Dixon in his studio in Guangzhou, China |
 |
| fig. 1: Terry Dixon, Kinetic Abstraction #1, 2017, mixed media on linen, 60" x 168". Photo by Terry Dixon. |
 |
| photo by Terry Dixon |
 |
| DETAIL: Kinetic Abstraction #1 |
 |
| DETAIL: Kinetic Abstraction #1 |
 |
| DETAIL: Kinetic Abstraction #1 |
 |
| DETAIL: Kinetic Abstraction #1 |
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Select African American Art Exhibitions: Highlights for June - August 2017 | Part 2
This is the second part of a two part series focusing on Select African American Art Exhibitions: Highlights for June - August 2017. This continuation focuses on those institutions that are presenting a single artist exhibition and will include the following: Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Craft
and Folk Art Museum Los Angeles, Knoxville Museum of Art, and Sumter County Gallery of
Art.
As stated in part one of this series, "This is a very select list of exhibitions and although the exhibitions represented do paint the depth and breadth of art being produced by African American artists, it is not at all comprehensive when it comes to the number of exhibitions that are currently on view or forthcoming. The aim has been to select exhibitions that show works reflecting inter-generational production by male and female artists from across the country which are on view in various types of venues." To supplement this post, the reader is encouraged to view a more expansive offering of exhibitions highlighting the work of African American artists at the BAP Blog page entitled: Select Art Exhibitions in 2017. That page is updated on a weekly basis by either adding newly discovered exhibitions or removing those that are approaching their expiration date. Its intent is to provide comprehensive coverage of ongoing exhibitions on view for the current year.
As stated in part one of this series, "This is a very select list of exhibitions and although the exhibitions represented do paint the depth and breadth of art being produced by African American artists, it is not at all comprehensive when it comes to the number of exhibitions that are currently on view or forthcoming. The aim has been to select exhibitions that show works reflecting inter-generational production by male and female artists from across the country which are on view in various types of venues." To supplement this post, the reader is encouraged to view a more expansive offering of exhibitions highlighting the work of African American artists at the BAP Blog page entitled: Select Art Exhibitions in 2017. That page is updated on a weekly basis by either adding newly discovered exhibitions or removing those that are approaching their expiration date. Its intent is to provide comprehensive coverage of ongoing exhibitions on view for the current year.
Boston, Massachusetts
 |
|
NARI WARD
Sun Splashed, Artin
2013, Chromogenic
color print,
83 7/8" x 63”. Photographed
by Lee Jaffe
Courtesy
the artist; Galleria Continua,
San
Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins,
and
Havana; and Lehmann Maupin,
New York
and Hong Kong. NW.45, ©2017 Nari Ward.
|
The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) presents Nari Ward: Sun Splashed which is the most significant exhibition of the artist's work to date, and it will be on view through September 4, 2017. The exhibition is organized by Diana Nawi who is associate curator at Pérez Art Museum Miami.
Nari Ward was introduced to the Boston art scene in the 1998 exhibition, The Quiet in the Land, and again in 2000 as a part of a public project, Art of the Emerald Necklace, "an outdoor exhibition sponsored by the Institute of Contemporary Art and by Vita Brevis, the institute's separate program of temporary public art, [was] on view... through August 20. It [featured] temporary works by nine artists and landscape architects placed in and around the last system of urban parks [Frederick Law] Olmsted designed....
The artworks either celebrate or beg comparison with Olmsted's complex and subtle 19th-century vision; in a few cases they direct a contemporary spotlight on his left-to-crumble ideas." (Remembering Olmsted's Vision for Boston by Ann Wilson Lloyd, August 6, 2000, New York Times).
Nari Ward was introduced to the Boston art scene in the 1998 exhibition, The Quiet in the Land, and again in 2000 as a part of a public project, Art of the Emerald Necklace, "an outdoor exhibition sponsored by the Institute of Contemporary Art and by Vita Brevis, the institute's separate program of temporary public art, [was] on view... through August 20. It [featured] temporary works by nine artists and landscape architects placed in and around the last system of urban parks [Frederick Law] Olmsted designed....
The artworks either celebrate or beg comparison with Olmsted's complex and subtle 19th-century vision; in a few cases they direct a contemporary spotlight on his left-to-crumble ideas." (Remembering Olmsted's Vision for Boston by Ann Wilson Lloyd, August 6, 2000, New York Times).
The Boston presentation of this current exhibition, Sun Splashed, is coordinated by Ruth Erickson, ICA Associate Curator. According to Erickson, "Emerging alongside a notable group of African-American artists who rose to prominence in the 1990s, Ward takes on a massive and tactile approach to art-making and has expanded contemporary definitions of installation, assemblage, and site-specificity. His deft use of found objects imbues his work with an instinctive connection to the past as well as the present, allowing him to challenge viewers' perceptions of familiar objects and experiences."
Sun Splashed speaks to the issues around politics, spirituality, identity, and migration. The artworks which are made from soda pop bottles, shoelaces, shopping carts and other found materials that speak to the artist's distinctive experimentation of creating works in sculpture, collage, video, installation, and photographs. This exhibition, consisting of approximately 43 works, draws on diverse art histories and visual traditions, ranging from folk practices and ritual object-making to avant-garde and conceptual legacies of the twentieth century. Ward imbues his work with layered meanings connected to cultural expression, history, and the Black experience, paying particular attention to his native Jamaica and his adopted home of Harlem.
An Artist Talk: Explore this video and audio recording featuring Nari Ward.
Interactive tour led by one of the ICA’s expert guides.
Nari Ward Naturalization Drawing Table
"Participate in artist Nari Ward’s artwork Naturalization Drawing Table, in conjunction with his exhibition Nari Ward: Sun Splashed. Based on Ward’s personal experience of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, this interactive artwork gives museum visitors a better understanding of that process."
Saturday, July 1, 2017, 1:00–4:00 PM
Sun Splashed speaks to the issues around politics, spirituality, identity, and migration. The artworks which are made from soda pop bottles, shoelaces, shopping carts and other found materials that speak to the artist's distinctive experimentation of creating works in sculpture, collage, video, installation, and photographs. This exhibition, consisting of approximately 43 works, draws on diverse art histories and visual traditions, ranging from folk practices and ritual object-making to avant-garde and conceptual legacies of the twentieth century. Ward imbues his work with layered meanings connected to cultural expression, history, and the Black experience, paying particular attention to his native Jamaica and his adopted home of Harlem.
 |
Nari Ward, Savior, 1996, Shopping cart, plastic
garbage bags, cloth, bottles,
metal fence, earth, wheel, mirror, chair, and clocks, 128” × 36” ×
23”.
Collection of Jennifer McSweeney, NW.09. Courtesy of artist and
Lehmann Maupin,
New York and Hong Kong. Photo by EG Schenpf, Courtesy Museum of
Contemporary Art.
©2017 Nari Ward.
Savior, shopping cart featured in the image above, is a 10-foot tall sculpture that transforms a quotidian shopping cart through intricate assemblage and wrapping. "The encrusted cart, with its Christianity-inflected title, looks like a regal version of the carts that homeless or itinerant people use to collect cans and move their belongings. Ward addresses those who reside on the margins of the city's social structures and economies - the street vendors, the homeless, the disenfranchised." (museum label)
 |
Nari
Ward, Radha LiquorsouL, 2010,
Metal and
neon sign, PVC tube with artificial flowers,
shoelaces,
and shoe tips, 126” × 25” × 29”,
Collection
of Rachel and Jean-Pierre Lehmann
NW.34.
Courtesy the artist and Lehman Maupin,
New York
and Hong Kong, ©2017 Nari Ward |
Radha LiquorsouL, which is exhibited in the above image, is a part of a group of works made from out-of-use liquor store signs that Ward removed from buildings in New York. "Ward decorates the large neon signs with found objects...the final artwork is like a ritualistic beacon produced by urban streets, communal rituals, and personal affect." (museum label)
Nari Ward - A Segue into HistoryAn Artist Talk: Explore this video and audio recording featuring Nari Ward.
Interactive tour led by one of the ICA’s expert guides.
Saturday, June 24, 2017, 2:30 PM
Sunday, June 25, 2017, 2:30 PM
Saturday, July 1, 2017, 2:30 PM
Sunday, July 2, 2017, 2:30 PM
SEE more dates at Interactive tour.Nari Ward Naturalization Drawing Table
"Participate in artist Nari Ward’s artwork Naturalization Drawing Table, in conjunction with his exhibition Nari Ward: Sun Splashed. Based on Ward’s personal experience of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, this interactive artwork gives museum visitors a better understanding of that process."
Saturday, July 1, 2017, 1:00–4:00 PM
Thursday, July 13, 2017, 5:00–8:00 PM
Saturday, August 5, 2017, 1:00–4:00 PM
Thursday, August 17, 2017, 5:00–8:00 PM
The acquisition and display of works by Beauford Delaney have been part of a larger effort to bring long-overdue attention to the artist's legacy in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. That effort and dream have been realized as the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) presents Gathering Light: Works by Beauford Delaney from the KMA Collection, on view through July 23, 2017.
Gathering Light includes more than 30 of Delaney's paintings and drawings that were purchased from the artist's estate between 2014 and 2016 in what has amounted to one of the most significant art acquisition in the KMA's 27-year history. Nearly all of these works have never been on public view. Accompanying the works acquired by the KMA are also a small collection of paintings from the artist's estate that the museum hopes to raise funds to purchase.
KMA Executive Director David Butler states "We are thrilled to shine light on one of the world's greatest artists and local hero, Beauford Delaney. His legacy has been recognized internationally, but he less well-known here at home. We hope this exhibition helps to change that."
Beauford Delaney was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1901 and died in Paris, France in 1979. "Delaney is considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Despite battling poverty, prejudice, and mental illness, he achieved an international reputation for his portraits, scenes of city life, and free-form abstractions marked by intense colors, bold contours, and vibrant surfaces. The KMA's growing collection promises to serve as a vital resource for the preservation and celebration of this East Tennessee master's work."(PR)
Knoxville, Tennessee
 |
Beauford Delaney, Knoxville, 1969.
Watercolor and gouache on paper,
24” x 15 ¾”, Knoxville Museum of Art,
purchase with funds provided by the
Rachael Patterson Young Art Acquisition
Reserve. All images © Estate of
Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator |
The acquisition and display of works by Beauford Delaney have been part of a larger effort to bring long-overdue attention to the artist's legacy in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. That effort and dream have been realized as the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) presents Gathering Light: Works by Beauford Delaney from the KMA Collection, on view through July 23, 2017.
Gathering Light includes more than 30 of Delaney's paintings and drawings that were purchased from the artist's estate between 2014 and 2016 in what has amounted to one of the most significant art acquisition in the KMA's 27-year history. Nearly all of these works have never been on public view. Accompanying the works acquired by the KMA are also a small collection of paintings from the artist's estate that the museum hopes to raise funds to purchase.
KMA Executive Director David Butler states "We are thrilled to shine light on one of the world's greatest artists and local hero, Beauford Delaney. His legacy has been recognized internationally, but he less well-known here at home. We hope this exhibition helps to change that."
 |
Beauford Delaney, Untitled (New York
City) circa 1945. Watercolor on paper, 15 ½” x 22 ½”,
Knoxville Museum of Art, purchase with funds
provided by the KMA Collectors Circle.
|
Beauford Delaney was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1901 and died in Paris, France in 1979. "Delaney is considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Despite battling poverty, prejudice, and mental illness, he achieved an international reputation for his portraits, scenes of city life, and free-form abstractions marked by intense colors, bold contours, and vibrant surfaces. The KMA's growing collection promises to serve as a vital resource for the preservation and celebration of this East Tennessee master's work."(PR)
Los Angeles, California
 |
| Betye Saar, Liberation, 2011, Mixed media on vintage washboard. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts and Tilton, Los Angeles, CA. Collection of Sheila Silber. |
Betye Saar: Keepin' It Clean, a solo exhibition of the seminal contemporary artist's washboard assemblage sculptures is on view at The Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) through August 20, 2017. Saar began the washboard assemblage sculptures in the late 1990s and continues to make them to this day.
"Saar commonly utilizes racialized, derogatory images of Black Americans in her art as political and social devices. The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972) is Saar’s most well-known art work, which transformed the stereotypical, nurturing mammy into a militant warrior with a gun. Aunt Jemima continues to be a reference point for Saar even now, as she brings her back to life to take on the ongoing racial injustices faced by Black America, including disproportionate police violence and poverty. Combining images of mammies and laundresses with potent words from spirituals and poetry within the washboard structure, Saar emboldens and ennobles the once subservient figure - no longer in service of white supremacy." (PR) Listen as Saar discusses The Liberation of Aunt Jemima in the following video.
Keepin' It Clean which presents twenty-four new and historical works that center on the washboard as a symbol of the unresolved legacy of slavery and the subsequent oppressive systems facing Black Americans today was curated in close collaboration with the artist. Saar's renewed focus on making washboard assemblages stands as an urgent act of cleansing the race-and-gendered-based violence that American society continues to inflict. In Saar's own words, "the increase of police shootings and the Black Lives Matter protests are examples that America has not yet cleaned up her act."
According to Holly Jerger, curator of Keepin' It Clean, "Betye Saar's washboard assemblages are brilliant in how they address the ongoing, multi-dimensional issues surrounding race, gender, and class in America. She compresses these enormous, complex concerns into intimate works that speak on both a personal and political level. With the increasing erosion of civil rights in our country, it is more important than ever to exhibit Saar's work, and we are deeply honored to have the opportunity."
Program Highlight:
Keepin' It Clean: A Conversation with Betye Saar and Steven Nelson
"Saar commonly utilizes racialized, derogatory images of Black Americans in her art as political and social devices. The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972) is Saar’s most well-known art work, which transformed the stereotypical, nurturing mammy into a militant warrior with a gun. Aunt Jemima continues to be a reference point for Saar even now, as she brings her back to life to take on the ongoing racial injustices faced by Black America, including disproportionate police violence and poverty. Combining images of mammies and laundresses with potent words from spirituals and poetry within the washboard structure, Saar emboldens and ennobles the once subservient figure - no longer in service of white supremacy." (PR) Listen as Saar discusses The Liberation of Aunt Jemima in the following video.
 |
We Was Mostly ‘Bout Survival
, 2017
Mixed media assemblage on
vintage ironing board
Courtesy of the artist and Roberts
& Tilton, Los Angeles, CA
Betye Saar, We Was Mostly ‘Bout Survival, 2017
Mixed media assemblage on vintage ironing board
Courtesy of the artist and Roberts and Tilton, Los Angeles, CA.
Photo: Robert WedemeyeAdd caption |
Keepin' It Clean which presents twenty-four new and historical works that center on the washboard as a symbol of the unresolved legacy of slavery and the subsequent oppressive systems facing Black Americans today was curated in close collaboration with the artist. Saar's renewed focus on making washboard assemblages stands as an urgent act of cleansing the race-and-gendered-based violence that American society continues to inflict. In Saar's own words, "the increase of police shootings and the Black Lives Matter protests are examples that America has not yet cleaned up her act."
According to Holly Jerger, curator of Keepin' It Clean, "Betye Saar's washboard assemblages are brilliant in how they address the ongoing, multi-dimensional issues surrounding race, gender, and class in America. She compresses these enormous, complex concerns into intimate works that speak on both a personal and political level. With the increasing erosion of civil rights in our country, it is more important than ever to exhibit Saar's work, and we are deeply honored to have the opportunity."
A fully-illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition with an essay by Steven Nelson, Director of the African Studies Center and professor of African and African American art history at UCLA.
Program Highlight:
Keepin' It Clean: A Conversation with Betye Saar and Steven Nelson
Sunday, June 25, 2017 3:00 PM
Space is limited, RSVP required: rsvp@cafam.org
William Paul Thomas, Stephanie's Financé, oil on canvas, 24"x 36".
Space is limited, RSVP required: rsvp@cafam.org
The Sumter County Gallery of Art presents two exhibitions, William Paul Thomas: Loved Ones and Saba Taj: Muslims are Awesome, on view through June 23, 2017. Both Thomas and Taj belong to communities that are experiencing a heightened sense of anxiety as their status as Americans is questioned.
According to Karen Watson, Director of the Sumter County Gallery of Art, "It is more important than ever to provide an opportunity for the voices and visions of these artists to be seen and heard. The Sumter Gallery of Art is committed to presenting challenging art that, we hope, will increase understanding and break down barriers." Watson goes further to state that "Loved Ones is an appropriate title for the exhibition, because the titles of the portraits are familial descriptions - a little girl's dad, an auntie's grandson, a friend's fiancé." The image above, Stephanie's Financé, features Johannes James Barfield. Thomas "took the
photo reference for this after they had just left a movie theater in Greensboro. Johannes is an artist currently working on
his MFA at VCU. We met while he was
living in Greensboro. He included me in a series of photographic portraits
exploring family."(PR)
William Paul Thomas's goal for Loved Ones can be readily understood as it is explained in his artist statement: "Many people have an immediate psychological connection and/or identification to faces. As people are drawn to look closer at the portraits, questions about the subject's state of mind arise. Are they sad, reflective, angry? If the expression is ambiguous enough, we might begin to project our own emotions onto them to interpret the
painting's meaning. We regularly celebrate women and men of prominence in mass media, so I take advantage of the opportunity to highlight the working people in my community that impact me more directly than an untouchable celebrity or distant historical figure could. The work begins as an intimate
acknowledgement of an individual and is subsequently transformed into a set of symbols poised for the viewer's investigation." Thomas's selection of the people he uses as models is twofold: it is a way of recognizing their significance in his life, and it serves as a way of honoring everyday people who often move through the world unnoticed.
William Paul Thomas's goal for Loved Ones can be readily understood as it is explained in his artist statement: "Many people have an immediate psychological connection and/or identification to faces. As people are drawn to look closer at the portraits, questions about the subject's state of mind arise. Are they sad, reflective, angry? If the expression is ambiguous enough, we might begin to project our own emotions onto them to interpret the
 |
| William Paul Thomas, Evie's Last, oil on canvas, 24"x 36". |
William Paul Thomas's current series, Cyanosis, is a part of the Sumter Gallery exhibition, Loved Ones. The series explores the condition of being deprived of basic human rights, being marginalized, or victimized and the artist does this by painting parts of the subjects faces blue. Cyanosis is a way to describe the bluish tone of the skin that results from lack of oxygen in the blood. In a real life situation, a recent witnessing of deprivation of oxygen was the strangulation death of Eric Garner by NYPD police officers. Evie's Last (image to the right) features Anthony
Hill who is Thomas's brother; Anthony is Evona Hill's youngest son. According to Thomas, "Anthony
will be 20 this year. He was in first grade by the time I went to college, so
we haven’t been able to spend as much time together as I would like. He is a
talented musician and is in at least two
Metal bands."
Saba Taj: Muslims are Awesome is the second exhibition on view through June 23, 2017 at the Sumter County Gallery of Art. Saba Taj is a self-identified queer, visual artist and activist whose work centers around identity and challenging Islamophobia and sexism.
When asked what it's like to produce art during a time of Islamophobia in America, Taj notes that her "entire life as an American has been a time of Islamophobia, and it is something that she directly confronts in her work. Early on she felt a responsibility to use her art to explore Islamophobia, but more recently has found that simply by being a socially engaged Muslim and gay woman of color in America, themes of systemic marginalization emerge in her work because that is embedded in how she grapples with her own identity."(PR)
Saba Taj thinks of art as a way to control the narrative and representation of Muslim Americans, and also as an act of resistance in a world that threatens to diminish people because of who they love and what they believe."
 |
| work by Saba Taj |
When asked what it's like to produce art during a time of Islamophobia in America, Taj notes that her "entire life as an American has been a time of Islamophobia, and it is something that she directly confronts in her work. Early on she felt a responsibility to use her art to explore Islamophobia, but more recently has found that simply by being a socially engaged Muslim and gay woman of color in America, themes of systemic marginalization emerge in her work because that is embedded in how she grapples with her own identity."(PR)
Saba Taj thinks of art as a way to control the narrative and representation of Muslim Americans, and also as an act of resistance in a world that threatens to diminish people because of who they love and what they believe."
 |
| work by Saba Taj |
From her artist statement, Saba Taj states "I grew up internalizing a lot of racist and sexist messaging. My work
undoes these toxic falsehoods and navigates the nuances of intersectionality,
by focusing on representation. The constructed 2-dimensional story of these
women, oppressed and lacking agency in an imagined 'Muslim world,' has been a partial
justification for military intervention and fuels Islamophobia. Muslims are
Awesome is a collection of works that pushes back against Islamophobic
narratives by illustrating hybridized identity. Truly, Muslims are a
combination of many parts, ever changing over time, complicated by diaspora,
and highly individualized. Muslims are Awesome challenges dehumanizing,
hegemonic representations of Muslim women as oppressed, in need of liberation
by white America. Many of the portraits offer a non-Muslim viewer entry points
through humor, beauty, and shared cultural symbols."
Saturday, June 10, 2017
ARCH Presents FUSION: Three Pop-Ups of Art, Fashion, and Design
Vintage and Charmed kicked off the series of three store pop-ups with a reception on June 9th at 6PM. This location provides these entrepreneurs with the platform to stretch their creativity beyond the 500sq ft. gallery space they currently hold inside the Anacostia Arts Center. Each of these woman-owned businesses is thrilled to push the boundaries of visual merchandising to dramatic results.
FUSION will run from June 9 through August 19 at 2208 MLK Jr Ave SE. Featuring Vintage and Charmed, The Den, and Nubian Hueman. Each boutique will determine their own store hours.
- Vintage and Charmed - June 9 through June 25
- The Den - July 8 through July 23
- Nubian Hueman - August 5 through August 19
Vintage and Charmed
Created
by Washington, D.C. native and Anacostia resident Lynette McNeil-Voss;
Vintage and Charmed began as an Ebay store. The demand for the
hand-picked items grew so rapidly that in the summer of 2011, Lynette
opened her first location in Maryland; she outgrew the store within two years.
Lynette has hosted fashion shows and kiosks across the region, she has a
keen eye for fashion and is always on the hunt for unique pieces.
Vintage and Charmed has items from main-street to high-end designer
labels. The store will be open 11am - 7pm Monday - Friday, and 12pm - 5pm Saturday and Sunday.
 |
| Interior view of Vintage and Charmed. |
The Den
Maryam
Foye is the founding artistic director of HBC Theater Company, LLC. The
Den: Reading Room and Artist Exchange is a project of HBC theater. The vision is
to serve as a safe space that promotes community engagement, creative
entrepreneurship, self-efficacy and art as activism. As a
Playback Theater practitioner, the bulk of her work is collecting,
retelling and documenting the stories of people of color, women and
children.
Nubian Hueman
Dubbed one of Washington DC's Best Boutiques by Washington City Paper, Nubian Hueman features
cultural goods along with art of various mediums reflecting the African
Diaspora and Black culture. The store serves as a means to promote
collective interaction, community development, and global responsibility
through a fresh and artistic platform. Owner and Lead Curator
Anika Hobbs, has always had an interest in the convergence of fashion,
interior design, and business. Nubian Hueman Boutique started as an
online store and graduated to brick-and-mortar location in 2013 and is
scheduled to expand in the next few months.
ARCH
ARCH
is a small, nonprofit neighborhood-based organization with its entire
focus on the economic regeneration of Washington DC's Historic Community
of Anacostia, using arts, culture, and the creative economy. Its mission is to create, in partnership with the residents and stakeholders
of the neighborhood, a home for arts, culture, and small businesses
fulfilling our commitment to the revitalization of Historic Anacostia.
Anacostia should be a vibrant residential and commercial neighborhood
that retains its historic charm and is filled with small businesses and
cultural organizations that serve Anacostia residents and create a
destination for visitors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)