-
Artist a Day Challenge No. 10 Basquiat & Golden Boys
In 1983 Basquiat took an extended leave from NYC to live in Los Angeles. Accompanying him was the reclusive, eclectic musician and artist Rammellezee and painter Torrick Ablack (aka Toxic). Basquiat was at the apex of his career at this time and during this trip to Los Angeles he tried to leverage his fame to encourage art world powerhouses to…
-
Artist a Day Challenge No. 9: Lorna Simpson
This series of collages by Lorna Simpson of embellished photographs and cutouts from Ebony magazine just beg for a story to be told. These traditional photos with their bold swaths of color that form these beautiful plumes of smoldering smoke look like some type of artistic Rorshach test. Simpson purposefully wants us to draw our own conclusions from her…
-
Artist a Day Challenge No. 8 Terry Adkins
Terry Adkins passed away one year ago today. It was clear that during his diverse career he was a creative catalyst for many as a professor and multi-disciplinary artist. I like the way he turns his subjects and concepts on their end by highlighting a little known or under-appreciated aspect of them. In this way he…
-
Artist a Day Challenge No. 7: Kenturah Davis
“I AM DELIBERATE AND AFRAID OF NOTHING.”~ AUDRE LORDE “I’M A REBEL WITH A CAUSE”~NINA SIMONE The first time I heard “Four Women” by Nina Simone I got chills. To me, there are three important elements to storytelling in any form of artistic expression: 1. It immediately conveys and connects to raw emotion 2. It provides a subtle…
-
Artist a Day Challenge No. 6: Archibald Motley
This is my favorite work by Archibald Motley. When I was in my 20’s I first saw this painting as part of a Harlem Renaissance exhibit at the De Young museum. The recent exhibition of his work at LACMA gave me a very different impression of the artist (that is a post for another day),…
-
Artist a Day Challenge No.5: Retna
One day, I will crack the code to Retna’s personalized alphabet that is a skillful fusion of Old English, Hebrew, Asian and Arabic calligraphy. In the meantime, I enjoy his work in abstraction. I love the symmetry and repetition in his murals. This particular one was painted for Jeffrey Deitch when he was at MOCA circa 2013.
-
Artist a Day Challenge No.4: Elizabeth Catlett
In November I saw “Sharecropper” by Elizabeth Catlett at LACMA. I loved the depiction of the duality of strength and despair shown as byproducts of exploitation in this piece. As a graphic designer and sculptor in the 30’s and 40’s, much of Catlett’s art highlighted African-American and Mexican women as caretakers, patriarchs, workers and nurturers; her work was used as a platform…
-
Artist a Day Challenge No.3: Alison Saar
“Spiral Betty” by Alison Saar is such a great piece because I think it cuts to the essence of black women and our relationship with our hair; it is a never-ending journey. For some it is a struggle, for others a mask, and with the renaissance of the natural hair movement, many celebrate it. Our hair journey is…
-
Artist a Day Challenge No. 2: Gordon Parks
For Black History Month I will be highlighting African-American artists who inspire creativity and beauty as catalyst of thought, reflection and emotion. The challenge in these posts will be to select a single image that captures the essence of their work! With Gordon Parks it is hard to distill a lifetime of music, photography, and film direction into a single…
-
Today’s Google Doodle: February 1, 2015
Today is Langston Hughes’ 113 birthday, and Google has posted a beautiful doodle in tribute to the writer. I am smitten with the animation by doodler Katy Wu and how the illustration captures the vibrancy of the jazz age and the beautiful message in his poetry. Hughes deftly recognized our stark, painful realities while artistically transcending the pain…
Colony Little, Culture Shock Art 