Category: Art
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Yayoi Kusama Comes to the Broad in October
On September 1 the Broad will place 50,000 tickets on sale online for its highly anticipated fall show and anxious Angelenos hitting refresh on their browsers might end up feeling like they’re in an endless infinity loop. Consider it visual dexterity training for Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors opening in October. The traveling exhibition’s L.A. layover will feature 6…
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Kerry James Marshall’s Mastry Examines the Power of the Image
In 2008, artist Kerry James Marshall was the subject of an oral history interview with the Smithsonian Institute where he recalled his childhood memory of the Watts riots of 1965. He remembered hearing sirens and seeing smoke, miles away coming from where he used to live in Nickerson Gardens. Over the course of the afternoon…
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Last Call! Signifying Form at the Landing Gallery
To signify means, “to make a sign or signal”. In a NYT book review penned by professor John Wideman in 1988, the writer explains how the practice of “signifying” assumes a more nuanced connotation within the black community. “In black vernacular, Signifying is a sign that words cannot be trusted, that even the most literal utterance…
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National Pink Day, Through Art
So today is National Pink Day and everyone is busy sharing pictures of their best selves donning pink clothes and drinking frosé (I had no idea frozen rosé was a thing until last week). But for me, the first thing I thought of was James Turrell’s Breathing Light which just wrapped its legendary 5 year…
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Extreme Times Call for Extreme Heroines: Betye Saar at the Craft & Folk Art Museum
Wall color plays a specific role in Betye Saar’s latest exhibit at the Craft and Folk Museum in Los Angeles. The second floor gallery is painted in a soft shade of stone blue and in the world of laundry products, blue is a color reflector that makes whites appear whiter. The color has been a…
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Holding a Mirror to Ourselves: Genevieve Gaignard in The Powder Room
“We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay – and rise!” ~Dr. Maya Angelou We are arguably our most vulnerable when we are alone with a mirror. It’s…
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New Definitions (and Questions) of Power Emerge in a Show Featuring Black Women Artists
For 3 years I have dedicated the month of February to daily posts that celebrate black artists. It was a personal writing challenge as much as it was an artistic one because I wanted to expand my knowledge of black contemporary artists that were underrepresented in traditional arts publications. The artists I featured have greatly influenced the work that…
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Kevin Beasley at the Hammer
Last month Daily Serving featured my shotgun review of Kevin Beasley’s current installation at the Hammer Museum. Check it out! The installation will be on view at the Hammer through April 23, 2017. Daily Serving: Hammer Projects: Kevin Beasley at the Hammer Museum For more on Kevin Beasley click here.
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Talking Heads: Jimmie Durham & Wangechi Mutu
I recently encountered two similar works of art, one in L.A. and the other online: the first is by an artist with a 40+ year career who has self selected out of the U.S. art scene for over 2 decades and the second is from a Kenyan born artist with a Brooklyn based practice…
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Artist a Day Challenge, 2017 Finale (28): Augusta Savage
As we close out Black History Month and usher in Women’s History Month, today’s post on Augusta Savage made sense for a number of reasons — the most important being that today is the artist’s birthday. Born on a leap year 125 years ago, Augusta Savage’s life story still resonates and her career exemplifies an unyielding determination to her art and a strong dedication to her…
Colony Little, Culture Shock Art 