WANGECHI MUTU

We continue our Black History Month Series with Kenyan-born New York based artist, Wangechi Mutu, whose work constantly challenges the pervasive perceptions of the female persona and our cultural identity.

Whether she voices this through her collages, paintings or installations you will walk away with the swirl of her iconography in your head trying to morph that which you think you know.

*Follow our twitter feed today for great links to interview & other places to check out Mutu’s work. #wangechimutu

SPOTLIGHT: Clifford Owens It’s that time again… we’re continuing our Black History Month series with a profile on the always controversial, Visual Artist, Clifford Owens. Preferring the term Visual Artist over Performance Artist; Owen’s work is never dull, usually dealing with heavy issues of race, gender relationships and auto-eroticism - often leaving you to deal with/question his purposeful lack of emotional & physical control. Like when I found myself confronted with his video work that dealt with different forms of abjection and how we deal or don’t deal with it. That’s all well and good - I was down to explore that until I was confronted with Owens gutting, fingering and doing all sorts of things to fruit that one couldn’t imagine unless one saw. Then it gets uncomfortable, then he takes you to that zone. He’s transforming a meaning, but can you bare to watch it unfold. Owens claims no interest in the art world, “because the art world is not interesting,” his work has spurned new found interest in performance art. Here’s a link to a great ArtInfo article - 27 Questions with Clifford Owens. Come follow us on Twitter today (@hahamag #spotlight) as we tweet links to Owens work online.
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SPOTLIGHT: Clifford Owens

It’s that time again… we’re continuing our Black History Month series with a profile on the always controversial, Visual Artist, Clifford Owens.

Preferring the term Visual Artist over Performance Artist; Owen’s work is never dull, usually dealing with heavy issues of race, gender relationships and auto-eroticism - often leaving you to deal with/question his purposeful lack of emotional & physical control.

Like when I found myself confronted with his video work that dealt with different forms of abjection and how we deal or don’t deal with it. That’s all well and good - I was down to explore that until I was confronted with Owens gutting, fingering and doing all sorts of things to fruit that one couldn’t imagine unless one saw. Then it gets uncomfortable, then he takes you to that zone. He’s transforming a meaning, but can you bare to watch it unfold.

Owens claims no interest in the art world, “because the art world is not interesting,” his work has spurned new found interest in performance art. Here’s a link to a great ArtInfo article - 27 Questions with Clifford Owens.

Come follow us on Twitter today (@hahamag #spotlight) as we tweet links to Owens work online.

SPOTLIGHT: The Problem We All Live With We continue our Black History Month series with a look at Norman Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With…I’ve heard it said that Norman Rockwell was safe because he strayed away from depicting any direct social commentary in his work. Then what were all those paintings of ‘life americana’ that I remember growing up seeing in my mom’s art books supposed to be saying to me? And how could you ignore his painting of six year old Ruby Bridges being escorted to school admist the chaos of protestors that didn’t agree with the United States Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education ruling that declared the state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students were unconstitutional. In 1963, Rockwell confronted the issue of prejudice head-on with one of his most powerful paintings—arguably it’s been seen as the single most important image ever done of an African-American in illustration history.  At the time editorial policies governed the placement of minorities in his illustrations (restricting them to service industry positions only). The painting was a clear indicator that Rockwell was supporting equality and tolerance. Come follow us on Twitter today (@hahamag #spotlight) as we tweet fun facts to accompany Rockwell’s painting. *“The Problem We All Live With,” Norman Rockwell, 1963 Oil on canvas, 36” x 58” Illustration for “Look,” January 14, 1964 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum*
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SPOTLIGHT: The Problem We All Live With

We continue our Black History Month series with a look at Norman Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With…I’ve heard it said that Norman Rockwell was safe because he strayed away from depicting any direct social commentary in his work. Then what were all those paintings of ‘life americana’ that I remember growing up seeing in my mom’s art books supposed to be saying to me?

And how could you ignore his painting of six year old Ruby Bridges being escorted to school admist the chaos of protestors that didn’t agree with the United States Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education ruling that declared the state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students were unconstitutional.

In 1963, Rockwell confronted the issue of prejudice head-on with one of his most powerful paintings—arguably it’s been seen as the single most important image ever done of an African-American in illustration history. 

At the time editorial policies governed the placement of minorities in his illustrations (restricting them to service industry positions only). The painting was a clear indicator that Rockwell was supporting equality and tolerance.

Come follow us on Twitter today (@hahamag #spotlight) as we tweet fun facts to accompany Rockwell’s painting.

*“The Problem We All Live With,” Norman Rockwell, 1963 Oil on canvas, 36” x 58” Illustration for “Look,” January 14, 1964 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum*

Source: nrm.org

SPOTLIGHT ON KARA WALKER In honor of Black History Month, these last few days of February we’ll be spotlighting notable African-Americans in the art world. First up is Artist, Kara Walker - known best for her explosive black silhouettes resembling paper cut-outs whose imagery boldly explores race, culture, gender and identity issues. Born in 1969, Walker attended the Rhode Island School of Design and has gone on to showcase her work in some of the finest museums around: MOMA, SFMOMA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, just to name a few. In 2007, Walker was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. In the article, fellow artist Barbara Kruger summed up Walker’s work amazingly with this quote. “Walker’s vigilance has produced a compelling reckoning with the twisted trajectories of race in America. Her installations and films forcefully pluralize our notion of a singular “history.” They create a profusion of back stories and revisions that slash and burn through the pieties of patriotism and the glosses of “color blindness.” Restarting the engines of seemingly archaic methods, from the graphic affect of silhouette portraits to the machine-age ethos of film, she produces a cast of characters and caricatures with appetites for destruction and reproduction, for power and sex.” I just don’t think there’s much to say after that… Come follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/hahamag) as we tweet fun facts all day about Walker to accompany our bio of this art powerhouse on our site. *photo courtesy of Time magazine.
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SPOTLIGHT ON KARA WALKER

In honor of Black History Month, these last few days of February we’ll be spotlighting notable African-Americans in the art world.

First up is Artist, Kara Walker - known best for her explosive black silhouettes resembling paper cut-outs whose imagery boldly explores race, culture, gender and identity issues.

Born in 1969, Walker attended the Rhode Island School of Design and has gone on to showcase her work in some of the finest museums around: MOMA, SFMOMA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, just to name a few.

In 2007, Walker was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. In the article, fellow artist Barbara Kruger summed up Walker’s work amazingly with this quote. “Walker’s vigilance has produced a compelling reckoning with the twisted trajectories of race in America. Her installations and films forcefully pluralize our notion of a singular “history.” They create a profusion of back stories and revisions that slash and burn through the pieties of patriotism and the glosses of “color blindness.” Restarting the engines of seemingly archaic methods, from the graphic affect of silhouette portraits to the machine-age ethos of film, she produces a cast of characters and caricatures with appetites for destruction and reproduction, for power and sex.”

I just don’t think there’s much to say after that…

Come follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/hahamag) as we tweet fun facts all day about Walker to accompany our bio of this art powerhouse on our site.

*photo courtesy of Time magazine.

Source: hahamag.com

Our Black History Month series continues with, Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 - August 12, 1988). Basquiat was an American artist who rode high in the eighties New York Art Scene. His career in art began on the streets as a graffiti artist. Under the pseudonym SAMO he’d leave political-poetical messages impregnated on city walls… ‘Plush safe he think’… ‘SAMO as an alternative to the bourgeois.’ In less than a decade he was an international art star.  His paintings often described as childlike, dealt with human anatomy, dense imagery and text, and his African-American heritage. You might find that Jean-Michel is more commonly talked of in the context of celebrity than artistically; his friendships/relationships with Warhol, Madonna continue to be critiqued in the vortex of pop culture phenomena. With his crowning of trademark dreadlocks, Basquiat was a regular downtown fixture. His genius trapped in a burgeoning art movement set on ‘crazed’ did nothing to help slow down the excesses he became victim of.  At the age of twenty-seven he was dead of a drug overdose in his Great Jones loft…the radiant child had left his canvassed works behind screaming at the world, their many faces torturing and riveting are not unlike his legacy. Today you can see his influence in fashion, music, and of course the art world. Follow us today on twitter as we give you some great resources to learn more about Basquiat. “He disrupted the politics of the art world and insisted that if he had to play their games, he would make the rules.  His images entered the dreams and museums of the exploiters, and the world would never be the same.” - Keith Haring
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Our Black History Month series continues with, Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 - August 12, 1988).

Basquiat was an American artist who rode high in the eighties New York Art Scene. His career in art began on the streets as a graffiti artist. Under the pseudonym SAMO he’d leave political-poetical messages impregnated on city walls… ‘Plush safe he think’… ‘SAMO as an alternative to the bourgeois.’ In less than a decade he was an international art star.  His paintings often described as childlike, dealt with human anatomy, dense imagery and text, and his African-American heritage. You might find that Jean-Michel is more commonly talked of in the context of celebrity than artistically; his friendships/relationships with Warhol, Madonna continue to be critiqued in the vortex of pop culture phenomena.

With his crowning of trademark dreadlocks, Basquiat was a regular downtown fixture. His genius trapped in a burgeoning art movement set on ‘crazed’ did nothing to help slow down the excesses he became victim of.  At the age of twenty-seven he was dead of a drug overdose in his Great Jones loft…the radiant child had left his canvassed works behind screaming at the world, their many faces torturing and riveting are not unlike his legacy.

Today you can see his influence in fashion, music, and of course the art world. Follow us today on twitter as we give you some great resources to learn more about Basquiat.

“He disrupted the politics of the art world and insisted that if he had to play their games, he would make the rules.  His images entered the dreams and museums of the exploiters, and the world would never be the same.” - Keith Haring

We continue our Black History Month series with, Kerry James Marshall, an American Painter whose images portray the African-American urban experience through layered narratives of social order and disorder, of memories and myths. Kerry James Marshall, a world-renowned African American artist, was born in Birmingham, AL in 1955. Needless to say he was born into a world of murder, turmoil, and sadness for African Americans everywhere. He has said in the past that it was impossible for his art not to have been influenced by his birthplace. One of Mr. Marshall’s core beliefs is that “we all stand on the shoulders of giants.” Some of his greatest influences have been classic pieces of art, their structure and their subject matter. He developed this idea in his work and has applied many of these influences to creating his own Black masterpieces. As Mr. Marshall would walk the hall of various museums, as he often does, he notices a striking difference between the busts of African heroes and the ones of Greco-Roman heroes. There was animation, aggressiveness, and heroism in those busts, while the African pieces were static, inert, and passive. Why couldn’t Black people be depicted as the Greco-Romans were? From that idea came modeling his subjects as superheroes. Superheroes have been mostly White through the ages, and it was one of his ways of taking back power in Black imagery. The positive associations and feeling that superheroes engender were exactly what Mr. Marshall was seeking. Power, positivity, and heroism, long absent in representation. For this idea, he hearkened back to his childhood and his love of superhero comic books. The irony that in this case, he stood on his own “shoulders” this time is very powerful, and he resurrected a long-dormant idea. There was power in blackness that had long been hidden, and questioned by the White world. He furthered this idea by depicting his figures as the blackest of black. This beautiful color was often highlighted by his colorful backgrounds. It was a lovely sight. The other thing that struck this reporter about his art were his depictions of houses, all closed up from the outside, but inside, animated and warm. What went on behind the closed doors of Black folks? The maids, field hands, servants, slaves? What were their secret dreams and desires? To the rest of Caucasian America this was certainly a mystery. Exposing the secret yearnings and often sad and powerful world behind these doors is another goal of Mr. Marshall’s art. The overarching idea is that there is power and heroism in Blackness, and we need to spread the word. Watch for our fun fact tweets about Kerry throughout the day at @hahamag.
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We continue our Black History Month series with, Kerry James Marshall, an American Painter whose images portray the African-American urban experience through layered narratives of social order and disorder, of memories and myths.

Kerry James Marshall, a world-renowned African American artist, was born in Birmingham, AL in 1955. Needless to say he was born into a world of murder, turmoil, and sadness for African Americans everywhere. He has said in the past that it was impossible for his art not to have been influenced by his birthplace.

One of Mr. Marshall’s core beliefs is that “we all stand on the shoulders of giants.” Some of his greatest influences have been classic pieces of art, their structure and their subject matter. He developed this idea in his work and has applied many of these influences to creating his own Black masterpieces.

As Mr. Marshall would walk the hall of various museums, as he often does, he notices a striking difference between the busts of African heroes and the ones of Greco-Roman heroes. There was animation, aggressiveness, and heroism in those busts, while the African pieces were static, inert, and passive. Why couldn’t Black people be depicted as the Greco-Romans were?

From that idea came modeling his subjects as superheroes. Superheroes have been mostly White through the ages, and it was one of his ways of taking back power in Black imagery. The positive associations and feeling that superheroes engender were exactly what Mr. Marshall was seeking. Power, positivity, and heroism, long absent in representation.

For this idea, he hearkened back to his childhood and his love of superhero comic books. The irony that in this case, he stood on his own “shoulders” this time is very powerful, and he resurrected a long-dormant idea. There was power in blackness that had long been hidden, and questioned by the White world. He furthered this idea by depicting his figures as the blackest of black. This beautiful color was often highlighted by his colorful backgrounds. It was a lovely sight.

The other thing that struck this reporter about his art were his depictions of houses, all closed up from the outside, but inside, animated and warm. What went on behind the closed doors of Black folks? The maids, field hands, servants, slaves? What were their secret dreams and desires? To the rest of Caucasian America this was certainly a mystery. Exposing the secret yearnings and often sad and powerful world behind these doors is another goal of Mr. Marshall’s art. The overarching idea is that there is power and heroism in Blackness, and we need to spread the word.

Watch for our fun fact tweets about Kerry throughout the day at @hahamag.

Spotlight on Thelma Golden

This week in honor of Black History Month we’ll be spotlighting notable African-Americans in the art world.

First up is Museum Curator, Thelma Golden. Currently the chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem; Golden has spent her career curating controversial shows that highlight previously under-represented artists including women and people of color.

Come follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/hahamag) as we tweet fun facts all day about Golden too accompany our bio of this art powerhouse on our site.

Spotlight on Thelma Golden

This week in honor of Black History Month we’ll be spotlighting notable African-Americans in the art world.

First up is Museum Curator, Thelma Golden. Currently the chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem; Golden has spent her career curating controversial shows that highlight previously under-represented artists including women and people of color.

Come follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/hahamag) as we tweet fun facts all day about Golden too accompany our bio of this art powerhouse on our site.