REmix

Today Visualité will reach 1000 hits! A small milestone, but a milestone nonetheless. Thanks for your continued support!!

Meanwhile, check out Sam Gilliam's 1969 draped canvas painting Light Depth, and one of Chicago artist Rashid Johnson's unconventional adaptations, often garnered with Q-tips, black-eyed peas, and chicken bones, Grand Galactic Cloak. If you like what you see, you can find Johnson's work at Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago, as well as Gilliam's work in major art institutions across the country.

Top: Sam Gilliam, Light Depth, 1969, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 75 ft.

Bottom: Rashid Johnson, Grand Galactic Cloak, 2007.

scene of the day

Chappelle Show's Anthony Berry skit: "Holla Holla Holla"

scene of the day

Erykah Badu's adaptation of The Color Purple in "On and On" from her debut album, Baduizm.

rendering captivity

Though English artist John Philip Simpson made a bold anti-slavery statement when he presented his painting The Captive Slave to the Royal Academy in 1827, his imagery evokes an unsettling and modern representation of the contemporary captivity of hundreds of thousands of black men today. 

Newly acquired and housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Captive Slave, modeled by famous American actor Ira Aldridge, is rendered heroically, and with dignity and decency. This is a peculiar visual counterpart to emboldened, urgent narratives written by former slaves like Frederick Douglass and Mary Prince, who attempted to convey the terror and inhumanity of the practice of slavery. Terror, in a sense within their literary works, is entailed with bodily and psychological torment. 

The urgency of the abolition of slavery is not so apparent within Simpson's work in this respect.  Sure we see chains, tattered clothing, and black skin, but we also see a hopeful, regal, and composed figure that complicates visceral images of captivity.  With regard to Simpson's representation of enslavement,  how can we consider the efficacy of such work in tandem with the artist's strategic decision to employ a well-known black Shakespearean actor as the sitter?

Moreover, how can we consider this image as a living memory within a historical trajectory of black men and women entrenched within socio-political institutions of postcolonial societies? Just a thought. 

You can check out The Captive Slave at the Art Institute of Chicago. Also, I have provided a link to the blog of Grammy award-winning music producer John Forte, entitled "First Day Out of Prison."

Image: John Philip Simpson, The Captive Slave, oil on canvas, 50 x 40 in, 1827

scene of the day

Atlanta-based contemporary artist Fahamou Pecou and his outlandish promotional video.

"street" chic

In the January 24th edition of the New York Times, critic Randy Kennedy profiles artist Shepard Fairey and the National Portrait Gallery's acquisition of his iconographic portrait of President Barack Obama. Kennedy dares to suggest that this move symbolizes the blurring of the lines between fine art and what he labels "street art":

So it has been hailed by street-art fans as a significant moment, the fine-art world beginning to find a way to recognize a movement that has been growing apace for more than a decade, propelled by a generation of artists who grew up with graffiti and now make work on the streets with materials as varied (and sometimes as ephemeral) as paper, plastic, tape, snow, rubber bands and knitted wool.

Since when did the tradition of screen print posters become canonized into the ambiguous category of "street art"? Should artists like Shinique Smith and Jean-Michel Basquiat, who were heavily influenced by the tradition of graffiti, but whose works are most often exhibited inside gallery spaces and museums, be considered "street" artists as well? How about artists like David Hammons and William Pope L., who often utilize "found" public materials within their installations...are they "street" artists as well?

In short, site-specificity, or the spaces in which art is presented and displayed, public or private, plays a large role into how society consumes it. Distinctions like "fine/high" and "low/street" art are constantly being contested in artistic practices today with a merging of formal and technical artistic traditions within particular expressions that extend from specific subcultures and anti-establishment practices. Perhaps it is necessary to re-examine the roles that museum institutions play in presenting so-called "street" art and facilitate public interpretations of the work itself.

Top: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1984, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 86 x 68 in. (218.4 x 172.7 cm)
Bottom: Shinique Smith, Voodoo Children, 2005. Fabric, clothing, accessories and ink. Dimensions variable

scene of the day

An intimate portrayal of the collaborative work of America's most celebrated artists, the late Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol.

scene of the day

Check out the student-produced short film on textile artist and sculptor Yinka Shonibare: Questioning Authenticity in African Art: Yinka Shonibare

the dream: revisited

American photographer Gordon Parks (1912-2006) framed some of the most prolific moments in our country's history. Today's post is a tribute to him, as he is one of many Americans who could not witness yesterday's momentous occasion. Parks' powerful rendition of American Gothic (Ella Watson, 1942) is a befitting photograph because it serves as necessary reminder to keep the past within the present. Parks' work keeps alive the legacy of hundreds of thousands of African-Americans who struggled in hopes that one day we could be one nation, under God, indivisible...with liberty and justice for all. Though we are not there yet, the legacies of our forebearers encourage and motivate us to progress forward, one step at a time. You can check out more of Parks' works in Bare Witness: Photographs by Gordon Parks at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art in Evanston, Il in April 2009.

Image: Gordon Parks, American Gothic, photograph, 1942.

scene of the day

President Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" speech

hope

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day! Inauguration is literally hours away...take a moment to observe the monumentality of this historic occasion. Just BE.


Image: Shepard Fairey, Hope, screenprint

why we don't live in a post-racial society

Because even images as provocative as Dsquared's new ad campaign featuring Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista, conceptually, are racializing. In a clever Nickolas Muray meets Robert Mapplethorpe kind of way, bodies in these photographs become markers of beauty and race, while contention between the two colored/marked bodies creates visual interest but demarcates difference. Dsquared ads are normally shot in black and white photography... perhaps the creative directors decided to take "black" and "white" to another level. You can check out the ad campaign at www.dsquared2.com.

rhapsody in hue

So I've been dying to write about the breathtaking work of abstract painter Ed Clark. And now that I finally have the platform, I'm at a loss for words. His paintings are wall-sized fields of color, often inspired by sunsets in Mexico, Egyptian deserts, Moroccan architecture, and Parisian hill-top skylines. Clark is most popularly known for breaking into the art world by breaking out of the traditional four-sided canvas. His work can be found in major collections across the country, but is also conveniently available to locals at the Art Institute of Chicago and G.R. N'Namdi Gallery. According to one of my favourite scholars of all time, Robin D.G. Kelley, a little known fact about Clark is that he and other black artists were invited to- and subsequently visited Cuba in 1959 vis-à-vis Fidel Castro. Quite the visual revolutionary.

Left: Ed Clark, Untitled, 1957.

scene of the day

Thelonious Monk. Blue Monk.

why everyone should see "the black list project"

HBO and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston have partnered to create one of the most powerful documentaries and photographic exhibitions of the 21st century. Now being exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York City, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Elvis Mitchell present snippets of the lives of 25 artists, actors, activists, curators, athletes, etc. who speak candidly about their American experiences in The Black List Project: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Elvis Mitchell.

The interviews of Serena Williams, Lorna Simpson, Thelma Golden, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Chris Rock are by far the most thought-provoking.

You can find most of the interviews on Youtube and at www.blacklistproject.com Check out a portion of Serena Williams' interview below:

sports, the body, and aesthetics

In Serena Williams' interview from The Black List Project, she describes herself as the most underestimated 8-time Grand Slam champion to ever exist, questioning why her critics immediately accuse her of "overpowering" her opponents because of her sheer physicality, instead of crediting her with being a sound, mentally strategic player.

Williams' statement sparked a curiosity in me because at that moment, I realized that Serena's athletic performance is often overshadowed by her physical presence on and off of the tennis court, and is even more often, disconnected from her brilliance as an intelligent, opportunistic player. This example illustrates a type of gaze that guises itself as spectatorship. If we can "read" the body in visual art, performance, and fashion, is it possible to do so in the realm of sports?

It is undeniable that certain aesthetic "standards" for black bodies, especially in sports, are constantly produced and reproduced. Check out the Nike Basketball commercial below and think about the ways in which the body is presented and even aestheticized for athletic display. Comments are most certainly welcome.

Image: Hank Willis Thomas, Scarred Chest, 2004.

linked

Drama, race collide at Goodman Theatre - Chicago Sun Times
Off-Center Refractions of African-American Worlds - New York Times

video cult(ure)

Santogold's Creator. Because she's the ish.

afro-pop swag?

Today's artist highlight is that of South African artist Mustafa Maluka. His wall-sized portraits of anonymous yet intriguingly beautiful subjects have been seen most recently in the exhibition Flow at the Studio Museum in Harlem this past summer, which explored what it means to be an "afropolitan," globe-trotting artist.

Critic Rose Oluronke Ojo writes:

"Maluka sees [his figures] as "invented heroes." His goal was to create people he would like to look up to. Each member of Maluka's multiethnic, multihued and multi-textured ensemble may seem familiar to some at first because of the manner in which they are posed, the emphasis on style and fashion, and the titles of the portraits."

Nonetheless, Ojo continues on to describe the artist's process:

"How I produce these paintings, the portraits especially, is that I collect images with a particular gaze. They need to exude a particular strength and pride."

While Ojo suggests that Maluka is taking cues from Pop Art, given his use of textures, bright colors, and mixed mediums, I would like to suggest that Maluka's fresh-faced portraits could indicate the essence youth as the arbiters of contemporary pop culture. Clearly Maluka himself is articulating the quite dreadful and overworked term "swag" here...but nonetheless his imagery is striking, vivid, and indeed captivating.

Image: Mustafa Maluka, I can't believe you think that of me, 2007.

photorealism

Karel Funk's hyper-realistic and unconventional portraits of hooded white men are dually captivating and mundane. By refuting the traditional frontal positioning of subjects in portraits, Funk paralyzes the viewer, forcing them to continually scrutinize the presumed limitations of the two-dimensionality of canvas. You can check out more of Funk's work at 303 Gallery in New York City.

Left: Karel Funk, Untitled #12 (2005)

scene of the day

Philosopher and visual artist Adrian Piper's 1988 video installation Cornered

'black' is the new black

Given the dearth of black representation in the American fashion industry, models of African descent featured in magazine spreads or editorial photo shoots are generally accompanied with a moderate amount of buzz. American Vogue's January issue is no different, featuring models Jourdan Dunn and Chanel Iman. Under the theme "magical realism," the models are sporting the most sartorial trends of spring fashion. However, reading the captions, I got a sense that the editorial board thought it would be "cool" or "clever" to play off of the 'blackness' of the models by using phrases like "wrap star" or "a tribe called dress." Might I mention that the spread had nothing to do with "hip-hop" style, a link that was forcibly made with text. If this month's spread featured white models, would the editors utilize the same captions to frame the clothes? Or is reading and addressing the corporeal blackness of the models a necessary act to frame the insertion of color in a magazine for a mostly white base of readers? A few months ago, Vogue posited the self-critical question, "Is fashion racist?". Maybe not racist, but certainly racializing. Comments are most certainly welcome.

scene of the day: WARNING: graphic content

In 1971 performance and visual artist Chris Burden presented perhaps the most talked about video of all time. "Shoot" will be etched in the memories of performance artists for decades to come.

obama mART

Several artists have been inspired by President-Elect Barack Obama and his quick ascension into becoming a global visual icon of hope and change. As reported on CNN.com today, Visual artist and sculptor Michael Murphy is no different. His wire sculpture entitled Tension is a remarkable feat of sculptural portraiture, rendering Obama in what is now regarded as an iconographic, contemplative moment. Amidst the overwhelming clutter of Obama imagery propagated across the globe, in mom-and-pop shops, make-shift paraphernalia stores, on abandoned buildings, etc., Murphy's piece undoubtedly offers a powerful element of simplicity and sophistication. You can check out more of Murphy's artwork at www.mmike.com.


Tension - 10-23-2008 - 2'x2'x9' - 1000 feet of steel high tension wire, black enamel and poplar base

scene of the day

Video artist Edgar Arceneaux's Watts House Project.

crossing color lines

The paintings and works on paper of artist Iona Rozeal Brown have captured my attention for quite some time. Brown remixes "pictures of the floating world" or Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), with contemporary exaggerated portraits of Japanese B-girl style, a sartorial gesture that many would deem an appropriation of mediated blackness. Though Brown's work might evidence the complications of cultural globalization and the performativity of identity, she is not the only artist consuming/producing new representations of the global visual world. I am thinking here of Nikki S. Lee's cross-racial/sub-cultural performances, Gwen Stefani's dancing "Harajuku girls" in her solo debut video Hollaback Girl, and even Busta Rhymes as evidenced in Dangerous. How do we begin to navigate the dynamics of race and performance in the visual field when meaning is constantly made and re-made?

scene of the day

Rapper-actor extraordinaire Busta Rhymes performing whiteness, among many other subjectivities in his 1997 video Dangerous....

video cult(ure)

Andy Warhol's 1964 short film Blow Job. He's known for a lot more than Marilyn silk screens and Campbell soup cans....

WHITE WALLS

This week I will make my way to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago to see PROTECT PROTECT, text and installation artist Jenny Holzer's new exhibition....and I will be bringing you Visualité's first exhibition review from our White Walls series. Updates forthcoming!

wake up america: welcome to 2009

Thank you for ringing in the new year with Visualité! Check out the brand new content, videos, critical perspectives and more!

Image courtesy of Glen Lignon.

scene of the day

Laylah Ali is perhaps one of the most provocative artists of the 21st century dealing with the dynamics of race in our society. You can check out more of her work at 303 Gallery in New York City.

Video courtesy of PBS Series Art 21.

celebrité

Andy Warhol. Elizabeth Peyton. Prow. Even Kehinde Wiley. What exactly is the connection between art, celebrity, and popular culture? How exactly do icons of popular culture become visual tools for contemporary artists? What I find even more interesting is that the process of capturing celebrity through photography and painting often reproduces imagery of pop culture icons while inadvertently making artists themselves apart of celebrity circles. The paparazzi aren't the only forces feeding into the mass public obsession with the stars...

You can check out Elizabeth Peyton's retrospective Live Forever at the New Museum in New York City, as well as Andy Warhol's Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.