Tag: Photography
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“And Now, the Rest of the Story”: Simone Leigh at the Hammer Museum
Last week my latest review of Simone Leigh’s exhibit was featured on Arts.Black.com. The piece takes a close look at two of the strong influences found in Leigh’s work, the Herero and the Cupboard. While reading though sources for this piece I came across the fascinating, tragic history of the Herero. This gave me a much…
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Truth to Power: Sojourner Truth at BAMPFA
“I SELL THE SHADOW TO SUPPORT THE SUBSTANCE.” SOJOURNER TRUTH In 1864 Sojourner Truth, a former slave turned abolitionist, filed a copyright for her name, using photography and mass media as a strategic tool to fight slavery and the damaging propaganda used to perpetuate it. Her astute use of “cartes de visites”using her nom de plume was an economical…
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Camilo Jose Vergara’s “Old New York”
Camilo Jose Vergara’s work takes a historical photographic look at the dramatic evolution and dissolution of New York’s neighborhoods over decades. I really love his early early 1970’s work. For me, the most captivating series is “Old New York”, a body of photos that exposed the neglected, desolated, apocalyptic cultural landscape existing in the South Bronx. In these pictures you…
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The Fire and the Lotus: Proto Disco in New York
When I think about disco in New York in the 1970’s I think of the lotus flower. You can get so lost in the complexitiy of its beauty that it’s easy to overlook the murky waters the flower emerged from. We are entranced by a mythoized notion of disco marked by flashing neon lights and ribald…
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Behind the Walls: The Art of the Favelas
After Rio’s shiny, spectacular Opening Ceremony on Friday I came across this sobering picture that quickly brought me back to reality and filtered my view of the Olympic games. Brazil’s honest portrayal of the slave trade and the upbeat, energetic favela portion of the ceremony obscured some of the horrific present day realities behind the historical and…
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Bullets to Hashtags
In the absence of words there are just images. Here are some of the more thought provoking photographs that have helped me think about, process and grieve the tragedies of this week. Alton Sterling, Philandro Castile. “There is no contradiction between supporting law enforcement…and also saying there are problems, biases to be rooted out.” ~…
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Fred Martins Transforms Cultural Symbols into Historical Icons
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”- Marcus Garvey Fred Martins, a Nigerian visual artist based in the Ukraine has recently completed a new series of images called “Orange, Black and Freedom”. His work combines vibrant graphic design with photography through his use of digitally created hair picks that are transformed into African and…
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The Art of Serendipity: James Van Der Zee & Derek Fordjour
I love little moments of artistic serendipity. I come across them often and they are the fuel behind this site. Today, while looking at the work of photographer James Van Der Zee, I came across this picture: It immediately reminded me of a painting by Derek Fordjour that I fell in love with a few months ago.…
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SF MOMA in 3: Part 2
Now that we got the essentials out of the way in yesterday’s post, it’s time to see some art! As I previously warned, I don’t suggest you try to see everything in 1 day. There are 7 floors of art, so I suggest that you pick 3 and spend some quality time with the collections.…
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Unmentionables: Zoë Buckman at Papillion
Peering through a gallery window at lingerie hanging from the ceiling made me feel like a voyeur. Catching a glimpse of Papillion while closed was probably the best way to experience their latest exhibit by Zoë Buckman called Every Curve. In this body of work the artist explores the polarities between feminism and hip hop and the cultural dynamics of both existing within…
Colony Little, Culture Shock Art 