Columbia College Chicago

Date: January 29, 2009
Time: 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Reception: Life Has Not Even Begun by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons

One of the most important artists to emerge from post-Revolutionary Cuba, María MagdalenaCampos-Pons creates multimedia installations, large-scale Polaroids, sculpture, painting and performance that investigate history and memory, and their roles in the formation of identity. Drawing from her personal narrative as an Afro-Cuban woman living in the United States, Campos-Pons’ work transcends individual experience to explore crosscultural, universal phenomenon. Issues such as cultural hybridity, displacement, ties to family and home, and the dualities present in each individual are themes that continue to permeate her work.

In this new body of work, Life Has Not Even Begun captures the anticipation and tension inherent in exploring the unknown. From the artist re-discovering her Chinese ancestry, to her intensive study of midnight-blooming flowers, to the unexposed horrors of war, to the future of an imagined peaceful world, each work in this exhibition makes its own unexpected revelation.

Location: 1104 South Wabash Avenue, Floor 8 / Film Row Cinema

Fleming Museum - University of Vermont

More than Bilingual: William Cordova and Major Jackson
January 27 - May 10, 2009
Wolcott Gallery

Although Peruvian-born visual artist William Cordova and African-American poet Major Jackson come from divergent backgrounds, both artists find inspiration and common ground in music, literature, and the urban aesthetic. Cordova's mixed-media drawings and his installations of discarded stereo speakers and record albums allude to modern urban subcultures as well as to his memories of Peru. Jackson's poetry explores race and language, and ways in which language can both perpetuate cliched attitudes and foster new ways of thinking.Individually and collaboratively, their works celebrate and critique how cultural territories are dispersed, redefined, and transformed in urban settings.

The tradition of poet-painter collaborations flourished in New York City in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although this creative practice diminished in later decades-in part because the artistic movements of Minimalism, Conceptual Art, and Earth Art seemingly offered less scope for poetic collaboration-it is now enjoying a resurgence. The Fleming Museum is pleased to participate in this movement by bringing together for the first time William Cordova and University of Vermont faculty member Major Jackson, longtime admirers of one another's work.

The exhibition is timed to coincide with the 35th African Literature Association (ALA) conference, which focuses on the ways creative writers and artists from other cultural traditions imagined Africa and blackness in the past as well as the extent to which that imagining has evolved and can be said to foster inter-subjective dialogue in the age of globalization. Through our own programming, and partnering with ALA participants' as well as members of the Latin American Studies program at the university, we aim to explore avenues of critical dialogue emerging from the work of this creative pairing of artists.

Please join us on Thursday, April 16 at 8:00 PM for a special evening of poetry in memoriam Aime Cesaire hosted by the Museum in association with the ALA Conference.

It's a New Day

Be The Change You Want To See



It's a New Day

Take a Look, Take Your Time

The summer has been busier than expected and I haven’t been able to post anything but I received a link to this art piece that I think everyone should check out. It’s a work by Lauren Woods and William Cordova and true to Cordova’s form the work is pertinent, thoughtful and approachable. As always, feel free to post comments.

October Blue Suite

What Do You Think?

An art “authority”, curator / historian / instructor, said or at least implied that there was no disparity within mainstream art establishments and art media between African American artists that produce representational work with overt racial subject matter and African American conceptual artists (or artists from any other genre) that produce work without strong racial overtones, if any at all. I wonder if that’s true.

Artists To Look At

Curated by
Dawoud Bey



March 28 - May 3 2008



Opening Reception
Friday 3.28.08, 5 - 8 pm
artist talk @ 6 pm

Gallery:
362 Boylston St.
Brookline, MA 02445

FEATURED ARTISTS
Howard Henry Chen
Alan Cohen
Christine DiThomas
Aron Gent
Rula Halawani
Surendra Lawoti
Curtis Mann
Oscar Palacio
Adriana Rios

FRESH PRODUCE
Nahna Kim

www.397.pair.com/gasp1/index.html

Call For Papers

W.E.B Du Bois Institute for African
and African American Research / Harvard University

and

M I C A

Maryland Institute College of Art

co-sponsored with the

Reginald F. Lewis Museum
of Maryland African American
History and Culture

will host the 3rd Conference on African American Art
Baltimore, Maryland

NOVEMBER 13 – 15, 2008
“TRANSFORMATIONS / New Directions in Black Art”
CALL FOR PAPERS
Deadline: August 30, 2008
__________________________________________________

forward to:
Dr. Leslie King-Hammond
lkingha@mica.edu

Who Are You Looking At?

I’m still checking out William Cordova. From my somewhat narrow perspective his work seems to rescue history and culture. He shifts through the misinformation that has been heaped upon it and restores it to a presence even greater than its experienced life. That’s not to suggest that he makes the memory of the past or the reflection of today better but, instead, he makes it more truthful. Cordova goes below the surface of the sensational to reveal very factual information. He presents these histories and events with compassion to those who lived them and with kindness to those who are unaware, by wrapping his work in subtle metaphor, allowing the viewer to come close to what they were taught to believe and what they were taught to fear.

I love Cordova’s commitment and thoughtfulness. He has given me new ways of seeing. His work is not about the aesthetic in the literal sense although, once examined, it turns out to be very beautiful. Instead, and what I appreciate most, is that it invites and even challenges the viewer to investigate for themselves what’s being offered.

Since my introduction to William Cordova I have wondered how people become informed about art and what keeps them engaged to any particular body of work and how all of it pans out for audiences of color.
….
I especially like this older piece entitled STAND UP NEXT TO A MOUNTAIN.


The piece addresses appropriation, co-opting and sampling of culture through image. The plastic wrapper suggests "product" but the Black men in it are defiant in that they are non participatory via the act of looking away from the viewer or spectator.
….
William Cordova has been selected for the 2008 Whitney Biennial.

Who Are You Looking At?

A must see!!!

EXHIBIT: the house that frank lloyd wright built for Atahualpa, fred Hampton y mark clark

ARTIST: William Cordova

On view until February 16, 2008

SPECIAL EVENT: Artist Talk: February 15, 2008 at 7:30 pm [includes catalog release]

LOCATION: Three Walls
119 North Peoria #2D
312-432-3972
www.three-walls.org


--From the Three Walls website

William Cordova's work has woven itself into the public's conscious as of late, through sculpture, drawings, installation and public art projects that investigate and deconstruct the cultural landscape; marshaling new material, knowledge and readings of the architecture, sites and media that are marginalized by the forced predominance of other, status quo perspectives. For his ThreeWalls exhibition, the house that frank lloyd wright built for atahualpa, fred hampton y mark clark, Cordova developed projects that echo people and events in recent Chicago history while linking them to past histories from different parts of the world. In doing so he challenges the way we assume, consume and many times erase what is relevant or beneficial to our social make up and survival.

The combination of Cordova's research and the evocative work it manifests, comprise a palette that articulates both personal and shared experience. Including public site markers that continue his ongoing Landmarks series, a billboard project with BASE (a collective of artists, writers and activists that Cordova frequently works with) and a small publication set alongside discrete work at ThreeWalls, Cordova's gestures act as provocations which, according to New York based artist/writer (and sometimes collaborator) Leslie Hewitt: "force new readings, translating back and forth the convergence [of] image, text, and material [that] capture[s] seemingly dormant battles of ownership and conquest."

Who Are You Looking At?

Julie Mehretu at the Detroit Institute of Arts
23 Nov 2007
Julie Mehretu: City Sitings inaugurates the central special exhibition galleries, located just to the south of Rivera Court. Mehretu, born in Ethiopia and raised and educated in Michigan and Rhode Island, has been described as a truly global artist, whose large, abstract paintings explore the often unwieldy issues of mobility, social organization, political entanglement, and global competition. Five of the paintings in City Sitings were completed specifically for the exhibition. These new works demonstrate her fervent preoccupation with multiple, often conflicting, viewpoints. 


Julie Mehretu: City Sitings

23 November 07 - 30 March 08

The Detroit Institute of the Arts





These images aren't in the DIA exhibition but I wanted to show examples of her work. If you have the opportunity to see the show please take advantage. Her work is striking to see up close.

Who Are You Looking At?

A lot of folks...

I spent the holidays in Detroit and, yes, I know what you're thinking, but it’s my home and I love it as maybe only a family member can.

In every family there's a shining star and ours right now is the New Detroit Institute of Arts. Although I had a cold for most of the trip I managed to get there for a short visit.

My visit was too brief for me to make any grand assessments but I have to say it's absolutely wonderful!...and HUGE! in comparison to the "Old " DIA. I should also mention that they have three permanent galleries dedicated to African American Contemporary Art. This is a big deal because many museums don't have permanent exhibit space reserved for African American Artists.

Here are some pictures I took during my visit.
(note: the exterior and cafe shots are downloads)

The Detroit Institute of Arts illuminated

The Great Hall

Riveria Court





One of the African American galleries


Autobiography: Air
Howardena Pindell




Portrait of Christopher D. Fisher, Fourth Reich Skinhead
Peter Williams




William T. Williams





Benny Andrews (2 images)




Untitled
Martin Puryear


CafeDIA

(we ended with lunch)

***
Since the re-opening of the DIA critics have said that the museum is playing up to an “uneducated” public by installing labels and displays that “dumb down” the art.




While I noticed the new labeling right away I also quickly recognized that its intent is to provide access to a broader and younger audience. The new designs make sense when you consider that time and tracking studies show that 59% of visitors stay in individual galleries no more than three minutes and that where interest is minimal labels with extensive text are a deterrent.

It should be noted that every single label in the museum is not designed this way, certainly not enough to be a distraction to those with extensive knowledge of the art and artifacts being presented.

Who Are You Looking At?

Krista Franklin



I saw this image on the cover of Callaloo (the premier African Diaspora literary journal). I loved it and actually tracked down the artist. I can’t tell you how excited I was to find out that we were actually in the same city. I emailed her and we met at an art opening. Since then I’ve been shadowing her every move trying to get to one of her pieces. Unfortunately something always comes up and last night was no exception. Forced to study for finals I missed the opening of Krista Franklin’s current exhibition “Lucky Sevens” at Tianguis: books. Tea. Cultura. Despite my absence last night my plan is still in force. I'm sure I'll have a Krista Franklin piece before 2008.

Check out Tianguis and the link I to Krista Franklin's site
www.tianguis.biz
www.myspace.com/tianguis

Who Are You Looking At?

Hank Willis Thomas





Here’s another one that almost got by without me seeing. Again I was on a quest. I asked a co-worker to name the artists that she liked and Hank Willis Thomas was on the top of her list. I had never heard of him but since our conversation I’ve been tripping over his name. I still don’t know a lot about him but this article hit my email today:

The Elusive Concept of Blackness
Through photography and film, artist Hank Willis Thomas explores what it means to be Black today.
www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=256

What do you think?

And which artist is on the top of your list.

Who Are You Looking At?

I've taken a fancy to Jefferson Pinder



“My work explores both urban and rural mythologies. Creating cut paper hybrids of fact and fiction, I tear and paste paper upon paper to produce a layered cast of portraits. In the tradition of Romare Bearden, David Driskell, and David Hammonds my work is about recollecting truth from a personal past and using collage techniques to create a cohesive thought or image. By creating a cast of self-made mythical portraits, I examine what it means to be an Afro-American in a fragmented contemporary society.”
~Jefferson Pinder

I came across the work of Jefferson Pinder while surfing the site of the David Driskell Center. Only after my initial stumble did I find more information about him but it was still with great intention on my part. I love art and I’m always disappointed when an artist gets pass me. I wonder… how does one get into the loop? How does one go from stumbling upon an artist to getting the information straight on? And don’t tell me to subscribe to art magazines because I have a forest of such material pushing me out my apartment.

I invite everyone to visit the link I have for him and check out his performance and mixed media work.

Who Are You Looking At?

I've been checking out Mark Bradford.

Mark Bradford was born in Los Angeles, California in 1961. He received a BFA (1995) and MFA (1997) from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. Bradford takes materials found in the streets of LA and creates transformations that speak to and of his community.

I first saw Bradford’s work when he participated in the Freestyle Exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem. He has become a shining star and I’m learning more about him everyday. I love his collage abstractions that are described as “architectural”, “organic”, and “grid-like”. He’s often compared to Piet Mondrian,
Ellen Gallagher
and Basquiat. Coming from a laymans perspective and considering only visual aspects of the work I personally would not have thought of these artists in conjunction with Mark Bradford. Maybe Mondrian but not Ellen Gallagher or Basquiat (both whose work I love). I probably would have thought more of Robert Rauschenberg. But only in comparison to certain pieces, like the following:




I recently read an interview with Mark Bradford in Art on Paper. When asked (about his work), “What has changed? Are there still endpapers?” I found interesting and just loved his response. He said, “Early on I did use endpapers. But the social component of the work started to weigh more than the paintings. I mean that being hairdresser started becoming more talked about than my being a painter. …”

He’s so right. The question is, why? Despite it’s place in the making of Mark Bradford, why would being a hairdresser be pushed that much into the forefront. I remember some of those reviews:

“Mark Bradford, 45, has gone from being a self-proclaimed “beauty operator” at his mother’s beauty shop in South Los Angeles to navigating the tangled, lucrative weave that is the international art scene”.

“…he used the tools of his mother's beauty salon trade to create his dynamic early pieces. (He also worked at her salon for a while.) His mediums were hair dyes and end papers, the small rectangular tissues folded over the ends of hair during the perming process. The collages that arose from his use of those beauty supply staples…”

“He’s discussed having been a hairdresser in South Central, using the same backdrops and aesthetic languages as that subculture—yet it complements his painting.”