Category: visual art

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What’s been on my mind

So many thoughts come to me as I move through my day, exploring my little corner of this vast Continent, trying to keep 3 languages (English, French and Bamanakan) straight in my head, trying to stay creative and nimble, etc

But there are some thoughts, observations, ideas that keep coming back, things that won’t leave you alone. Over the past few months I have been thinking about money, currency, cash, moolah y’all…how it functions in the world, its behavior, the behavior of those who handle it, define it, worship it, and  those that are under its foot, caught in its crease. A recent article from SiliconAfrica  has made me think even harder as I attempt to come to grips with my own complicity which has made ask and attempt to answer some tough questions for myself and the way I move in the world.

I have always been interest in Africa (I will post more about that soon my my other blog BOOM FOR REAL BAMAKO), even from a very young thanks to late Uncle Clemson “Russell” Joiner and my parents efforts to make sure I understood that there is more to African American history than enslavement (rebellion and victory) and the Civil Rights Movement.

I have been fortunate enough to have people around me from an early age to explain to that Africa and its influence on all American life is not some remote dead thing of the past, but that it is still with in a lot of ways… not as retentions but as things we have always done. I was reminded of this just a few weeks back when the The Daily Beast posted pictures from Martin A Berger’s newly published Freedom Now!: Forgotten Photographs of the Civil Rights Struggle where this photo taken by Don Cravens in 1955 caught my attention:

royalty1

which in turn immediately made think of the picture I took during my first week here in Bamako in 2013, which I call  Royalty.

royalty2

 

Although I was not surprised to see women carrying things like this in Bamako; I must admit, despite my Low Country/Gullah roots, I was still surprised to see this.  I see women like this everyday walking around Bamako, I marvel at them, how they are always in motion, always at work, always serving.

Because these things have been repeatedly going through my mind since I have been here I have been trying to make sense of them the best way I know how…by attempting to make poems. I am not quite ready to share them yet, but you will see them, if I am blessed you may see 1 or 2 of them in print.

See you soon.

 

 

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Respect the Architect – Kanye ‘s Anthimeria

Kanye West © Noam Dvir, Instagram User dvirnm
Kanye West © Noam Dvir, Instagram User dvirnm

Copyrighted image by dvirnm

So I guess I should start by saying I am not a Kanye fan and after reading about some of the blacklash…ahem backlash from members of the architecture establishment in Lian Chikako Chang’s article about Kanye’s recent visit to Harvard Graduate School of Design (I walk past here all the time while on Residency at Lesley doing my MFA)… I am still not a fan, but as poet/curator/hiphophead I really dug Kanye’s mini-lecture at Harvard School of Design.

The -lash  is mostly centered around Kanye’s use of the “architected”. I understand this on many levels as poet and as someone trying to deal with language I understand that he used a rhetorical device called Conversion or Verbification or Anthimeria  or sometimes known as “verbing the noun”. This is common practice in the African American creative realm and is found all over in African American literature, drama and so on and so forth, so it comes as no surprise that an artist whose currency is language would say something like this. I always love to hear Sonia Sanchez say “poeting” when she talks about what she does; graphic designer Alan Flecther also used the term in the title of book Picturing and Poeting.

What I really love about this specific term is that it another way to describe a process that takes something from an idea caught in the flesh and blood, that is in our brains and makes a “thing” out in the world. It speaks to a very deliberate and intentional process by which to bring something abstract into the physical world…I cannot argue with Kanye on that.
I think the more ways we can find to articulate that sentiment and work ethic the better, be it architecting, poeting, whatevering, etc.

The other thing that I think the -lash makes clear is that in a profession that is 91.3% “white”, the fear of having someone who does not look the part, but who has such a huge platform, co-opting their language appears to be a threatening proposition…

Anyway, go read Lian Chikako Chang’s article For Architects Only? How Kanye Exposed Architecture’s Bias, also check out Phaidon’s blog from over a year ago (July 2012) about Hip Hop Architecture, and other articles about Hip Hop Architecture here , here  , here  and the work of Earl S Bell for good measure. Also check out other examples of verbing the noun – “architecting” in the Caribbean with the “V is for Veranda” Project.

When you are done with all that go check out Guru and Bahamadia on Respect the Architect, (that phrase comes from a Biz Markie sample from Nobody Beats the Biz)…architecting for real!

UPDATE: Also shout out to Doug Patt author of How to Architect

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random art musings #000

AmericangothicAmerican Gothic, ( 1930) painting by Grant Wood Gordon_Parks_-_American_GothicAmerican Gothic, (1942) photograph by Gordon Parks CapricornCapricorn, model 1948, cast 1975 (sculpture) by Max Ernst

So M and I were at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) a few years ago and although I had been to the NGA many times before, we decided to take their “Introduction” tour. While on that tour one of the pieces that they highlighted on the tour and that really caught my attention was Max Ernst’s Capricorn.

It hit me on a few levels, mostly because I am always looking for  the presence of “African design intelligence” or an African aesthetic in art, literature, etc and this piece in particular felt like it had an organic feel to it, in the same way that some many of the African works that I have been exposed to, especially in the sculpture world….I am not sure if it was the fashioning of animals in human “positions” (i.e sitting and standing) or just a kind of symmetry and balance that  I feel in looking at all of these works.

In looking at the Wood and Parks pieces and considering the titles it is clear that the two works are in “conversation” with one another, even if that conversation is oppositional or confrontational, it is there.

The Ernst piece, Capricorn immediately caught my attention because it appeared that it, too, was a part of this visual conversation; its balance the composition, what was depicted all suggest  at the very least a thread of a connection.  The other thing that made me think that they was the timing. Both Parks’ piece and Ernst’s piece were completed very close in time, Parks piece in in 1942 the year of Grant Wood’s death and Ernst a few years after in 1948. I cannot help but think particularly around the time of Wood’s death that engaged artist like Parks and Ernst would not have something say about it in their work.

When I come to a piece of art I am always thinking about its DNA, not just process, materials and aesthetics , but the real lineage of the piece…who, what, where, why or when spawn it…what other ideas or works of art is it connected to, not just movements and manifestos

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DC:POETRY: 4/10/12 Angles of Ascent (f/ K. Dargan, G. Pardlo, and A.B. Spellman) @Writers Center, 7pm

The Writer’s Center is pleased to announce a reading by Kyle Dargan, Gregory Pardlo, and A.B. Spellman, poets who will be published in the forthcoming Angles of Ascent: A W.W. Norton Anthology of  Contemporary African American Poetry.  The reading takes place 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street Bethesda, Maryland, and will be followed by a reception and book signing.  General admission is $5.00 (free to members and full-time students.)  This is the inaugural reading of the Politics & Prose at The Writer’s Center poetry series. We will announce additional readings as they are scheduled.  For more information call The Writer’s Center at 301-654-8664 or Politics & Prose at 202-364-1919.

Kyle Dargan  is author of two collections of poems, Bouquet of Hungers (University of Georgia Press, 2007) and The Listening (University of Georgia Press, 2004), winner of the Cave Canem Prize.  His poems have also appeared in Ploughshares, Shenandoah, Denver Quarterly, Poet Lore, Callaloo, and other journals.  He is an assistant professor of literature at American University and editor of Post No Ills Magazine (online), which he founded in 2008.  In 2008, he won the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for Poetry, and he was selected as the 2007 Drew Darrow Memorial Reader at Bucknell University.

Gregory Pardlo is an associate editor of Callaloo, graduated from Rutgers University (1999) and received the MFA in poetry from New York University in 2001.  He is author of Totem (APR, Copper Canyon, 2007), winner of the APR/Honickman Frist Book Prize; and translator of Pencil of Rays and Spiked Mace: Selected Poems of Niels Lyngsoe (Toronto: BookThug, 2005).  Pardllo  is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

A. B. Spellman is author of The Beautiful Days (Poets Press, 1965), Things I Must Have Known (Coffee House Press, 2008), Four Lives in the Bee-Bop Business (Pantheon Books, 1966),  other editions under the title of Four Jazz Lives (University of Michigan Press) and Art Tatum: A Critical Biography (a chapbook).  He has taught at Rutgers University, Morehouse College, Harvard University, and other institutions.  He also worked for several years for the National Endowment for the Arts, where he served in various positions such as director of the Arts in Education Study Project, director of the Arts Endowment Expansion Program, and deputy chairman for the Office of Guidelines, Panel, and Council Operations.

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East of the River Distinguished Artist Award

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Presented by Honfleur Gallery with funding from the Gautier Family

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The first Annual East of the River Distinguished Artist Award recognizes a current East of the Anacostia River artist for artistic excellence as well as significant impact on the DC cultural life.

One EOR artist is honored with this $5,000 award each year.

Nominations for 2012’s East of the River Distinguished Artist Award are due by June 15, 2012.

Who is eligible?

Artists who currently live East of the Anacostia River neighborhoods in all disciplines—including dance, film, literature, music, theater, photography and visual arts—whose careers have made a substantial impact on the arts in the District of Columbia may apply. Artists must have lived East of Anacostia River for at least one year and worked in District of Columbia for more than five years. No one may receive the award more than once. No posthumous awards will be made. Application must include at least two pieces of work that have been completed or are in progress from the current year of application.

What is the purpose of the award?

The award celebrates the achievements and contributions of East of the River artists who, individually and collectively, have made an impact for the wealth of arts in Washington, D.C. Although these East of the River artists have been working in the District of Columbia over a number of years, their role in the DC cultural scene is often overlooked. In recognizing them, the award will help document the East of the River cultural history and continue the long succession of tradition EOR artists. This award is the newest component of the ARCH Development Corporation support for local artists and will be given on an annual basis.

How to apply?

Applications are accepted either by mail only or dropping off applications in person. (Please note: no feedback will be given at that time of drop off.) An application form, a one to two page description of the candidate’s career and its impact, up to fifteen (15) images or documentation of the work along with a required image script, resume and two letters of support are required. Anyone that qualifies as an East of the River artist may apply (see above: Who is eligible?)

NOTE: *All files need to be high res (300dpi and no larger than 5x7inches) burned onto a CD or flashdrive. Please see application for more details.

Who chooses the Distinguished Artist?

The panel is composed of individuals representing a variety of artistic disciplines and others well versed in the history of the arts in the District of Columbia and with specific knowledge of the East of the River neighborhoods. This panel then recommends a candidate to the ARCH’s board of directors.

When is the Distinguished Artist announced?

The deadline is June15, 2012. No extensions will be given. The artist will be notified by August 1, 2012. The East of the River Distinguished Artist Award will include an awards ceremony at the closing ceremony of the Honfleur Gallery Annual East of the River Show, currently planned for September 7, 2012, which is mandatory to attend to receive the award.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION HERE

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Time Shadows: Music – Chinese|German|American Neighborhood Poetry Collaboration

Poetry Reading
Thursday, February 23, 6:30 pm
Goethe-Institut Washington, 812 Seventh St. NW

Time Shadows: MusicChinese|German|American Neighborhood Poetry Collaboration

Over the last 150 years, Washington, DC’s Chinatown has been home to many immigrant groups. Each has contributed to the vibrancy and diversity of our neighborhood and our city. Three cultures are highlighted in this annual celebration of poetry and voice.
The 2012 poems focus on the topic “Music”, featuring poems by twelve renowned poets. Many of the poets will take part in the reading in person or via telephone.


Chinese Poets:
Xi Murong
Liao Weitang
Song Lin
Yi Lei

American Poets:
Sunil Freeman
Brian Gilmore
Rod Jellema
Fred Joiner

German Poets:
Norbert Hummelt
Hans Raimund
Jutta Richter
Brigitte Struzyk

 

Additional readings will take place throughout the city during Spring and Summer 2012. The poems and translations, along with the full schedule of readings, can be found at www.goethe.de/timeshadows.
In cooperation with the Chinatown Community Cultural Center, the Confucius Institute at George Mason University, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Public Library.

Goethe-Institut Washington, 812 Seventh St. NW
www.goethe.de/washington ; | www.facebook.com/GoetheDC | www.twitter.com/GoetheDC