Friday, September 24, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Lena Horne: An Appreciation
Toward the end of her very full life, Lena Horne suggested to a PBS interviewer that, after decades of struggling to define her image as an artist and a black woman, she finally had seized possession of her identity.
"I don't have to be a symbol to anybody," said Horne, who died Sunday night in a New York hospital at the age of 92. "I no longer have to be a 'credit.' "Americans born before 1960 will recognize Horne's fragmented reference to a phrase that, mercifully, has now been confined to history's ash heap: "a credit to her (or his) race."That perhaps somewhat well-intentioned, but deeply patronizing, sobriquet was applied — mostly by white Americans, of course — to a select group of blacks ( Ralph Bunche, Joe Louis, Sammy Davis Jr.) deemed to possess superior talents and/or character traits that might, in time, help "uplift" other African Americans by setting a "good" example.Viewed more sinisterly, it was a term that was plastered onto prominent blacks who were perceived by whites as conforming to white behavioral standards, and therefore didn't threaten America's racist status quo.What Horne passionately insisted on was the right to be regarded not as the designated representative of a group, or the personification of some abstract ideal, but as a one-of-a-kind individual — neither more, nor less. Horne posited herself as the active subject of her own life, not the object of the mainstream white audience's "exotic" fantasies and fears.Her dignified personhood was expressed most obviously through her knockout beauty and multiple talents. Long before the idea of "self-branding" came into vogue, Horne established herself as a multi-dimensional entertainer, making her mark in musical theater, movies, records and later television.Her fierce individualism also took form in the uncensored anger she vented at the racially based indignities she and other African Americans suffered. (She once threw a lamp at a lout who uttered a racist gibe in a Beverly Hills restaurant.)Horne's singularity came through in a vocal style that was notable not for its effortless urbanity, a la Ella Fitzgerald, or booming gospel panache, in the Aretha Franklin mode, but for its elegant pop-jazz versatility and the sense it conveyed of the singer's heartfelt emotional struggles. She movingly dramatized those qualities in her early-'80s hit Broadway show, "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," which earned her a special Tony Award.
"I don't have to be a symbol to anybody," said Horne, who died Sunday night in a New York hospital at the age of 92. "I no longer have to be a 'credit.' "Americans born before 1960 will recognize Horne's fragmented reference to a phrase that, mercifully, has now been confined to history's ash heap: "a credit to her (or his) race."That perhaps somewhat well-intentioned, but deeply patronizing, sobriquet was applied — mostly by white Americans, of course — to a select group of blacks ( Ralph Bunche, Joe Louis, Sammy Davis Jr.) deemed to possess superior talents and/or character traits that might, in time, help "uplift" other African Americans by setting a "good" example.Viewed more sinisterly, it was a term that was plastered onto prominent blacks who were perceived by whites as conforming to white behavioral standards, and therefore didn't threaten America's racist status quo.What Horne passionately insisted on was the right to be regarded not as the designated representative of a group, or the personification of some abstract ideal, but as a one-of-a-kind individual — neither more, nor less. Horne posited herself as the active subject of her own life, not the object of the mainstream white audience's "exotic" fantasies and fears.Her dignified personhood was expressed most obviously through her knockout beauty and multiple talents. Long before the idea of "self-branding" came into vogue, Horne established herself as a multi-dimensional entertainer, making her mark in musical theater, movies, records and later television.Her fierce individualism also took form in the uncensored anger she vented at the racially based indignities she and other African Americans suffered. (She once threw a lamp at a lout who uttered a racist gibe in a Beverly Hills restaurant.)Horne's singularity came through in a vocal style that was notable not for its effortless urbanity, a la Ella Fitzgerald, or booming gospel panache, in the Aretha Franklin mode, but for its elegant pop-jazz versatility and the sense it conveyed of the singer's heartfelt emotional struggles. She movingly dramatized those qualities in her early-'80s hit Broadway show, "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," which earned her a special Tony Award.
Chattanooga!
FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, CHATTANOOGA RANKED AS ONE OF THE TOP 25 ARTS DESTINATION BY THE READERS OF “AMERICANSTYLE” MAGAZINE
In the June issue of AmericanStyle magazine, Chattanooga is ranked as the #4 Mid-sized City on the Top 25 Arts Destinations 2010 list. AmericanStyle, a publication of Rosen Media, is an internationally respected magazine that focuses on contemporary art and craft and is geared toward art collectors. The magazine reaches approximately 125,000 readers who purchase art and travel extensively to visit galleries, art events and artist studios. The magazine is distributed through bookstores and galleries worldwide.
The population of the mid-sized city category, in which the readers awarded Chattanooga second place, ranges between 100,000 – 499,000. Other cities included in this category are quite well known for their art venues, including Atlanta, Minneapolis and Miami. This high ranking is determined by the readers and is a testimony to the value the arts add to Chattanooga.
This is amazing coverage for the arts in Chattanooga and the community as a whole. It will bring both art enthusiasts and collectors to our community, which will generate revenue, not only for art galleries and art venues, but also for restaurants, lodging and retail as well.
What: AmericanStyle magazine’s article featuring the Arts in Chattanooga and AmericanStyle’s Top 25 Arts Destination 2010 list ranking Chattanooga as the #4 Mid-sized City.
Where: The magazine will be on sale at Barnes and Noble and online atwww.americanstyle.com
When: At retailers after May 1, 2010.
In the June issue of AmericanStyle magazine, Chattanooga is ranked as the #4 Mid-sized City on the Top 25 Arts Destinations 2010 list. AmericanStyle, a publication of Rosen Media, is an internationally respected magazine that focuses on contemporary art and craft and is geared toward art collectors. The magazine reaches approximately 125,000 readers who purchase art and travel extensively to visit galleries, art events and artist studios. The magazine is distributed through bookstores and galleries worldwide.
The population of the mid-sized city category, in which the readers awarded Chattanooga second place, ranges between 100,000 – 499,000. Other cities included in this category are quite well known for their art venues, including Atlanta, Minneapolis and Miami. This high ranking is determined by the readers and is a testimony to the value the arts add to Chattanooga.
This is amazing coverage for the arts in Chattanooga and the community as a whole. It will bring both art enthusiasts and collectors to our community, which will generate revenue, not only for art galleries and art venues, but also for restaurants, lodging and retail as well.
What: AmericanStyle magazine’s article featuring the Arts in Chattanooga and AmericanStyle’s Top 25 Arts Destination 2010 list ranking Chattanooga as the #4 Mid-sized City.
Where: The magazine will be on sale at Barnes and Noble and online atwww.americanstyle.com
When: At retailers after May 1, 2010.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
On the Fence
Chattanoogans, check out this new opportunity. The City's Public Art Committee is seeking submissions for its On the Fence project. More information is here http://www.onthefencedesign.com/
'Place du Tertre' by Lois Mailou Jones
If you're going to risk some extreme connoisseurship -- looking and looking at the tiniest details in art -- you need to follow Rule 1 of the sport: Empty your bladder first, for concentration's sake. It was on my way out of the bathroom on the second floor of the old wing of the Phillips Collection that I noticed a work I'd never registered before. No wonder: The little painting, "Place du Tertre," looked like a retread of any number of impressionist views of Montmartre, deserving to be tucked away. Then I looked at the wall label, and was surprised to see the name of Lois Mailou Jones, a pioneering professor in the art department at Howard University who became famous for the black themes in her paintings. (She died in Washington in 1998, age 92.) No blackness in this picture, I noted. Too early, I thought. The picture was made in 1938, when the 33-year-old Jones was in Paris learning modern painting, before she'd come of age as a black artist. I looked one last time, closer, to make sure that reading was correct, and did a double take.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Searching for the Heart of Black Identity
The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, located at 715 West Main Street, is pleased to present Searching for the Heart of Black Identity from January 9 – April 10, 2010. From Hip-Hop music to contemporary literature, movies to cable television, the identity of Black America is often characterized by caricature and exaggeration. Searching for the Heart of Black Identity showcases the work of an amazing group of African-American artists from across America whose work explores this cultural conundrum. This provocative exhibition includes works in film, photography, textiles, sculpture, paintings and poetry. The opening reception will be held on Friday, January 8th from 5:00pm to 7:30pm.
Each participating artist embarks on their own quest to engage the world through the prism of his or her own personal family, social history and experience. The resulting work is a snapshot of what it means to be African American in contemporary society. Participating artists include: Amalia Amaki, Sanford Biggers, Milton Bowens, Michael Paul Britto, Sheila Pree Bright, Rogger Cummings, Detekh, Nikki Giovani, Nekisha Durrett, Christopher Harrison, Rodney Jackson, Lauren Kelley, Christina Marsh, Bradley McCallum & Jacqueline Tarry, Caiphus Moore, Fahamu Pecou, Jefferson Pinder, Bayeté Ross Smith, Duane Smith, Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, Frank X Walker, Kehinde Wiley and Deborah Willis.
Click here for more information.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Fisk Art News from CultureGrrl
In its 2007 petition seeking court permission to sell a half-share of its Stieglitz Collection to Alice Walton's Crystal Bridges Museum, Fisk University gave the following (now outdated) justification for the proposed transaction:
If Fisk's current financial condition doesn't improve, there is a high likelihood that it may lose its accreditation. Fisk is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), which will review the University's accreditation status in 2009. In its current condition, Fisk will fail to satisfy the criteria established by SACS to establish financial viability.The petition goes on to enumerate all the dire misfortunes that would hobble or destroy Fisk if accreditation were lost, including the likelihood of being "forced to declare bankruptcy, and/or dramatically scale back or cease operations." The university asserted that it needed to accept Walton's $30-million offer to convince SACS of its financial viability.
That was 2007. Now, this just in from Fisk:
Ligon @ the White House and in LA
Compared to the conservative choices of previous administrations, the art that the Obamas selected for the walls of the White House living quarters was mostly contemporary art by mostly living artists. Among them was New York-based Glenn Ligon, who, at 49, was the youngest artist to have his work chosen.
The news took a while to reach Ligon.
"No one called me so when I heard about it, I thought it might be a rumor," he said Wednesday, as he helped install his work for a show at Regen Projects in West Hollywood that opens Saturday. "Then I saw my work in a list of images in Smithsonian Magazine."
The 49-year-old Conceptual painter considers it an honor, and, he says, "I'm glad to think it is in the living quarters, to be where they sleep, eat dinner, where they will be able to see it. That part, I was thrilled about."
Ligon, who is African American, is known for texts stenciled in paint on canvas. The text in the 1992 painting selected by the Obamas is from John Howard Griffin's 1961 memoir "Black Like Me," the account of a white man's experiences traveling through the South after he had his skin artificially darkened.
The words "All traces of the Griffin I had been were wiped from existence" are repeated in capital letters that progressively overlap until they coalesce as a field of black paint. The picture belongs to the Hirshhorn Museum, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution, which loans art to the White House.
Thelma Golden, director of the Studio Museum in Harlem, N.Y., has organized many exhibitions that have included Ligon's art.
"I think Glenn Ligon is one of the most important artists working today," she said. "In his work, I am constantly amazed and inspired by his ability to operate on the level of deep thought and real feeling."
Ligon, who will have a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2011, is exhibiting his most recent art at Regen on the occasion of the gallery's 20th anniversary.
Read the Rest of the Story Here.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
What do you Think?
Can the black family catch a break in the movies?
www.startribune.com That's what many African-Americans in the Twin Cities and elsewhere are asking in the wake of two recent films: the critically acclaimed "Precious" and "The Blind Side," a No. 1 box-office hit that has grossed nearly $130 million since its Nov. 20 release.
• In "Precious," based on Sapphire's wrenching novel "Push," an obese, illiterate black teenager is pregnant again by her father while her also-abusive welfare-recipient mother scorns her for stealing her man.
• In "The Blind Side," which stars Sandra Bullock, an illiterate, homeless black teen is taken in by a kind white family. Under their care, he blossoms into a football star.
"I'm not saying that these things don't happen and that they are not good movies," said Brenda Anderson, 59, a law firm manager in Minneapolis. "It's just that at a time when the Obamas are in the White House, it seems like there's nothing [on screen] to reflect our proud reality. Instead, we have stories that show the black family as a total failure."
Read the rest of the story here.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Road to Freedom
Four years ago when photography curator Julian Cox moved from L.A.'s J. Paul Getty Museum to Atlanta's High Museum of Art, he looked for a project that would connect him to his new community. The answer came quickly: a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr."King was a national figure, but he was also a man of Atlanta," says Cox, who set out to organize a landmark exhibition and build the preeminent collection of its kind at an American art museum. The High's tiny trove of 15 prints grew to 325 by 2008, when “Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968” opened in Atlanta.The show subsequently acquired larger significance -- at the Smithsonian Institution's S. Dillon Ripley Center in Washington, D.C., where it became a major attraction for throngs that turned out for President Obama's inauguration.And now "Road to Freedom" has come to Los Angeles, where it is on view at the Skirball Cultural Center. The latest, expanded edition has a section on L.A.'s civil rights history and a companion show comparing Eric Etheridge's recent portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders with vintage mug shots. There are also documentary films and a lineup of public events. Concurrently, the California African American Museum will present a High Museum-organized exhibition on progressive social change.
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