Tag: art history
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Artist a Day: Ellen Gallagher
My latest review of Ellen Gallagher’s show Accidental Records was published recently by Art Practical. It was a beautifully haunting show that takes explores an Afrofuturistic outcome of the Middle Passage and it exposed me to the music of the Detroit House duo Drexciya. Head over here to read more on Gallagher’s work.
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On Monuments and Men
Our recollection of history is malleable, and confronting this paradox takes us down a tricky path of potholes filled with denial and subjectivities. The debate over Civil War monuments could have been a shorter one if we collectively had a better understanding of our history and the presence of mind to challenge our understanding…
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An Uncomfortable Silence: Doris Salcedo
For as long as I’ve been writing Culture Shock Art one of my biggest challenges involves whether I should write about work I have not seen in person. In order to effectively write a piece about a specific piece of art you have to see it in person, otherwise you cannot bring a reader into the process…
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Artist a Day Challenge No. 17: The Kara Walker Challenge
Kara Walker’s art disturbs me. The first time I experienced her work, I was in Arcana Books in Culver City and I found a catalog from one of her cut out shows (I think it was at the Walker Art Center). I was drawn by the nostalgic look of the cutouts which on some cellular level tapped into fond memories. Then…
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Artist a Day Challenge No. 15: Samella Sanders Lewis
Artist and historian Samella Sanders Lewis does not shy away from confrontation. As a child she found her voice through artistic expression and she was staunchly protective of her voice, fighting any force that tried to intimidate her into silence. Her career, particularly her art history education in the 1940’s was fraught with hostility and confrontation, but…
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Reflections on Rothko
Maybe you have noticed two characteristics exist in my paintings; either their surfaces are expansive and push outward in all directions, or their surfaces contract and rush inward in all directions. Between these two poles you can find everything I want to say.”~~Mark Rothko, 1953 Explaining “why” I love Mark Rothko’s work is not an…
Colony Little, Culture Shock Art 