Spring 2008 Spring Studio/

The Magazine/ Spring 2008 SMH Board of From the Director Trustees were unexpectedly able to present ’s Migration Series: Selections from The Phillips Collec- Chairman tion. The Whitney team’s hard work Raymond J. McGuire and flexibility enabled thousands of Vice-Chair visitors to see the exhibition in their Carol Sutton Lewis Gilman Gallery from November 21, Treasurer artist the Courtesy / 2006 2007, to January 6, 2008. I deeply Reginald Van Lee regret not being able to present the Secretary / (detail) exhibition at the Studio Museum, but The Studio Museum in Harlem Ma∂azine / Spring 2008 Anne B. Ehrenkranz am truly grateful to everyone at the Whitney for allowing these works to be seen in . Gayle Perkins Atkins Jacqueline L. Bradley Charles Ethan Porter (1847/49–1923). Kathryn C. Chenault Organized by the New Britain Museum Gordon J. Davis 02 What’s Up / Flow / Flow: Catalogue Excerpt / Charles Ethan Porter / Harlem Postcards 15 Projects on View / of American Art in , Reginald E. Davis Charles Ethan Porter: African-Amer- Susan Fales-Hill StudioSound featuring DJ Kemit / More-in-Store featuring Unknown Collection 17 Upcoming Exhibitions / ican Master of Still Life will be the Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. Spring 2008 first exhibition ever presented in our Sandra Grymes Kehinde / R.S.V.P. Senga / Artists in Residence / Expanding the Walls 19 Feature / Afri 26 Read It Now! / How to new lower-level gallery. On January Alterscape Stories: Uprooting the Past Past the Uprooting Stories: Alterscape This spring brings us Flow, the third 17, in the presence of Joyce K. Haupt See a Work of Art in Total Darkness by Darby English 28 Elsewhere / Barkley L. Hendricks / Art Smith / NeoHooDoo / / in what is now a trilogy of devoted to Department of Cultural Affairs Com- Arthur J. Humphrey Jr. emerging artists. In the exhibitions misioner Kate D. Levin, several elected George L. Knox / Archive Fever / Ghada Amer / Wifredo Lam / Julie Mehretu / Whitney Biennial 2008 / Freestyle (2001) and Frequency officials and many friends and sup- Nancy L. Lane (2005–06), the Studio Museum porters of the Museum, we cut the Dr. Michael L. Lomax Edward Burra / After 1968: Contemporary Artists and the Civil Rights Legacy / Robin Rhodes 34 Education and affirmed its commitment to support- ribbon on the new space. This spring Tracy Maitland ing and exhibiting new work. Flow Public Programs 40 Joyce Alexander Wein Prize / Trenton Doyle Hancock 41 A Portrait of an Artist by an Artist / Nkanga Otobong and summer you will begin to experi- Rodney M. Miller expands the purview of our explora- ence programs in this wonderful new I am thrilled to announce two new Eileen Harris Norton tion from North America throughout addition to the Studio Museum. features in Studio highlighting the art Kehinde Wiley / 44 Feature / Contemporary Revolutionary 46 Feature / The Birth of Antagonistic the world, presenting an amazing and ideas of contemporary artists. Dr. Amelia Ogunlesi variety of work by emerging artists For Artist on Artist, current artist in Corine Pettey Difference 48 Feature / Nari Ward 49 Profile / E.B. Lewis 52 Studio Fiction / Brian Keith Jackson 56 Harlem Where from Africa. residence Saya Woolfalk writes about David A. Ross We’re At / Harlem Exteriors / Harlem Interiors / From Harlem to Ethiopia 68 Development News / Gala 2007 2007 Joyce Alexander Wein Prize Charles A. Shorter Jr. winner Trenton Doyle Hancock. Also, Ann Tenenbaum 72 Museum Store you’ll get the first look at two new John T. Thompson photographs—a portrait of Kehinde Wiley by Mickalene Thomas and a ex-officio portrait of Mickalene Thomas by Hon. Kate D. Levin Kehinde Wiley. You’ll see even more ex-officio fantastic photography in this issue’s Karen A. Phillips two portfolios exploring the diverse and exciting character of our neigh- Studio Alongside these two exciting exhibi- borhood: Harlem Exteriors by tions will be our ongoing project Aric Mayer and Harlem Interiors by Editor-in-chief Harlem Postcards, this time featuring Lenard Smith. Ali Evans new work by Evi Abeler, Marc Managing editor Handelman, Pearl C. Hsiung and See you around and definitely Tiffany Hu Larry Mantello. Editor at large As we look toward the future with Lea K. Green Flow, we are thrilled to present a I would like to thank my esteemed Copy editor fantastic exhibition of a historically colleague Adam Weinberg, Director Samir S. Patel significant artist of African descent, of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and his staff for their exceptional uptown . . . Art direction and design support and cooperation when we Thelma Golden Map, New York Director and Chief Curator Original design concept 2x4, New York

Printing Cosmos Communications, Inc. The Studio Museum in Harlem is supported, in part, with public funds provided by the following Thelma’s photo / government agencies and elected representatives: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders Studio is published three times a year The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York State Council on the Arts, a state Cover Image/ by The Studio Museum in Harlem, agency; Council Member Inez E. Dickens, 9th C.D.; Speaker Christine Quinn and the New York City Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko 144 W. 125th St., New York, NY 10027. Council; Assemblyman Keith L. T. Wright, 70th C.D. through New York State Office of Parks, Kepi III Copyright © 2008 Studio Magazine. Recreation and Historic Preservation, and Borough President, Scott M. Stringer. 2003 All material is compiled from sources Collection of The Studio believed to be reliable, but published without respon-sibility for errors The Studio Museum in Harlem is deeply grateful to the following institutional donors for their Museum in Harlem or omissions. Studio assumes leadership support: no responsibility for unsolicited Altria Group, Inc. Pierre and Maria Gaetana Matisse Foundation This issue of Studio is underwritten, in manuscripts or photographs. All rights, American Center Foundation MetLife Foundation part, with support from Bloomberg including translation into other lang- Bloomberg The New York Community Trust uages, reserved by the publisher. Carnegie Corporation of New York The Nimoy Foundation Nothing in this publication may be Citigroup Foundation The Scherman Foundation reproduced without the permission of Elaine Dannheisser Foundation The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation the publisher. Fellows of Contemporary Art The Starr Foundation Please email comments to Goldman, Sachs & Co. Time Warner, Inc. [email protected]. Graham Foundation for The Norman and Rosita Winston Foundation Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts Wachovia The Greenwall Foundation Wallace Special Projects Fund at Community Funds, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Inc. on behalf of an anonymous donor in honor of JPMorgan Chase Foundation Lelia Allen and Dolores Williams

Dawit L. Petros/ Proposition 1: Mountain/ 2007/ Courtesy the artist 3 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ Adel Abdessemed 02/ Joël Andrianomearisoa Birth of Love (still) L’etrange (still) What’s Up 2006 2007 Courtesy the artist Courtesy the artist Flow April 2–June 29, 2008

suggesting that the markers of colonial time are more fluid than we might believe. Embedded in this long and varied history, these global artists challenge us to think about the ways in which the movement of people and resources build a shared time and space. For example, the artists have witnessed an influx of international aid to the conti- nent that has led to foreign debt and paved the way for corporate control of national services and natural resources. As security forces and other goods and ser- vices have been privatized, many African states have fewer means by which to guarantee the safety of their citizens, limiting the ability of people to circulate at will. At the same time, these artists are the inheritors of an immeasurable legacy of thinkers, leaders and creators who formed a gen- eration of contemporary African political and artistic expression. These conditions have a direct relationship to global possibilities and particular effects on the lives of black people worldwide. Throughout African-American history, the idea of Africa has been adapted as black peo- ple have sought to construct and understand their identity. This exhibition extends this history of self-making, memory 01 02 and loss to the present, and looks to the future with both Adel Abdessemed Joël Andrianomearisoa caution and hope. b. 1971, Constantine, Algeria, lives and works in Paris, France b. 1977, Antananarivo, Madagascar, lives and works in Paris, France Organized by Christine Y. Kim, Associate Curator, Flow is the third in a series of emerging artist exhibitions pre- Flow is a survey of new work by twenty emerging art- perspectives—sometimes dissonant, at other such as broken Moroccan tea glasses, horse-jumping sented by the Studio Museum that includes Freestyle ists. These artists were either born in Africa or born moments in sync. The work they produce imagines an poles and rubber, some of the artists in this exhibition (2001) and Frequency (2005). Like its predecessors, Flow to African parents, and currently live and work across understanding of Africa that extends beyond geo- explore themes of immigration, violence and the failures illustrates the individuality and complexity of twenty-first- Africa, Europe and North America. Coming of age graphic borders as it remains engaged with the pres- of assimilation. Other artists reinterpret the more tradi- century contemporary art, this time from creators around after the mid-century movements for national libera- ent realities of African peoples. In this way, the artists tional medium of portraiture by depicting their subjects as the world. While the majority of these artists have exhib- tion in Africa, this generation has witnessed shifts in remain particularly conscious of continued foreign displaced, fragmented or masked. And still others call ited abroad, many are new to U.S. audiences. As an exten- political, economic and social realities. Within this involvement on the African continent, as well as the upon everyday objects such as vinyl records, televisions, sion of the Museum’s mission to serve as a nexus for recent history, Africa is often illustrated in mass persisting systems of racial classification established soap and furniture as they question mass consumption artists of African descent locally, nationally and interna- media and popular culture through images of war- under colonialism. and the production of images in capitalist culture, as well tionally, Flow reflects this critical moment in the intercon- fare, disease and poverty, as well as through celebri- as sexual taboos. nected histories of African, African-American and ties who travel there and philanthropic efforts. These The diversity of media in this exhibition—, drawing, transnational black life.  representations often fail to articulate the complexi- , photography, video and installation—reflects Flow is both an exhibition and a concept concerned with Flow is made possible, in part, by grants from The ties that produce this visual information. The artists the artists’ multidisciplinary training and experience, as the multiple ways people, resources, cultures and ideas Foundation, The Peter Norton Family Foundation on behalf of Eileen presented here express their world through creative well as their critical approaches. Their idiosyncratic imagi- move. It is organized around a continent shaped by a his- Harris Norton, CULTURESFRANCE, The Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Consulate General of the in New York and the visions informed by the changes Africa has seen. nations move between discourses of visual art and aes- tory of mobility and displacement. Africa’s story of move- Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam. Rather than understanding the continent as simply thetics, philosophy and critical theory, and popular and ment begins well before the inauguration of foreign rule defined by a single position, they offer a multitude of material culture. Through an innovative use of materials and continues past the formal end of colonialism, 5 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ Ananias Léki Dago 03/ Latifa Echakhch 05/ Thierry Fontaine 07/ Olalekan B. Jeyifous Myop al Blanc 1 Erratum echo (echo) Vertical Semi-Iteration 2005 2004 2005 2008 Courtesy the artist Courtesy the artist Private collection Courtesy the artist

02/ Modou Dieng 04/ Mounir Fatmi 06/ Nicholas Hlobo 08/ Moshekwa Langa Are You Experience Obstacles Isivuno Ramothibedi 2008 2007 2007 2003 Courtesy the artist Courtesy Lombard Fried Collection of Courtesy Michael Project, New York Thorsten Albertz Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town

05

01 Thierry Fontaine 06 Ananias Léki Dago b. 1969, Saint-Denis, Réunion, b. 1970, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, lives and works in Nouméa, New Caledonia, Nicholas Hlobo b. 1975, Cape Town, South Africa, lives and works in Paris, France and Brisbane, Australia lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa

02 Modou Dieng b. 1970, Saint-Louis, Senegal, lives and works in Portland, Oregon

03 04 07 08 Latifa Echakhch Mounir Fatmi Olalekan Jeyifous Moshekwa Langa b. 1974, El Khnansa, Morocco, b. 1970, Tangier, Morocco, b. 1977, Ibadan, Nigeria, b. 1975, Bakenberg, South Africa, lives and works in Paris, France, and Martiny, Switzerland lives and works in Paris, France lives and works in , New York lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Paris, France 7 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ Michèle Magema 04/ Thando Mama 05/ Grace Ndiritu 07/ Dawit L. Petros Overseas Stories, Kani Kasegi (still) Back to Me 1 (still) The Nightingale (still) Proposition 3: Sign 2006 2003 2003 2007 Courtesy the artist Courtesy the artist Courtesy the artist Courtesy the artist

02/ Mustafa Maluka 05/ Trokon Nagbe 06/ Otobong Nkanga, 08/ Elias Sime I can’t believe you think that of me I have two reactions to power; Alterscape Stories: Spilling Filega 1 2006 1. To run and pretend the rules don’t apply to me waste (detail) 2004 Private collection, Geneva; 2. Secretly hope for its destruction 2006 Courtesy the artist Image courtesy the artist 2008 Courtesy the artist Courtesy the artist

01 05 Michèle Magema Grace Ndiritu b. 1977, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, b. 1976, Birmingham, , lives and works in Paris, France lives and works in , United Kingdom 06 Otobong Nkanga b. 1974, , Nigeria, lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Paris, France

02 Mustafa Maluka b. 1976, Cape Town, South Africa, lives and works in Berlin, Germany

07 08 03 04 Thando Mama Trokon Nagbe Dawit L. Petros Elias Sime b. 1977, Butterworth, South Africa, b. 1977, Bassa County, Liberia, b. 1972, Asmara, Eritrea, b. 1968, Cherkos, Ethiopia, lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa lives and works in Brooklyn, New York lives and works in Brooklyn, New York lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 9 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Nous étions 2007 Catalogue Excerpt Courtesy ARQUEBUSE, Geneva 02/ Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko Flow: What Does Africa Name? Phumeza 2003 Courtesy Danziger Projects, New York See Page72 by Achille Mbembe Translated by Isabelle Dupuis

lies the anthropological foundation of classical African art. The body lies at its center, essential to the flows of power, a privileged location for the unveiling of these powers and the exemplar of the entire human community’s constitu- tive debt, the one we inherit without wanting to and can never entirely discharge.

Debt is life’s other name. This is so because the central object of artistic creation—the spirit of its materiality—has always been a critique of life and a meditation on resist- ing death. It must be further specified that art has never been a critique of life in the abstract, but always about the struggle to be alive, stay alive, survive—to lead a human life. The aesthetic question is necessarily a matter of politics.

That is why, whether we speak of sculpture, music, dance, oral literature or the cult of divinities, African cultural Historically, the main function of artistic creation in production has always been about awakening sleeping Africa was not simply to represent, illustrate or nar- powers and guiding festivities. It is a privileged mode of rate reality. The goal of a work of art has always been ambivalence, a temporary theater of luxury, happen- both to blur and mimic original forms and appear- stance, spending and sexual activity, a metaphor for a

01 ances. Figurative art has admittedly maintained a history created as an alternative to order and reason, an relationship of resemblance with the original, but at expression of the plasticity of the social. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye the same time it constantly reconfigured that origi- b. 1977, London, United Kingdom, nal, deformed it, distanced itself from it and, above Hence there has never been anything traditional in this lives and works in London, United Kingdom 02 all, averted it. In fact, in most African aesthetic art, if only because it was always designed to manifest the Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko traditions, an artwork only existed once this work of extraordinary fragility of the social order. It is an art that conjuration had taken place and optical, tactile and never ceases to reinvent myths; even as the art pre- b. 1977, Bodibe, South Africa, other sensations were brought together in a single tends to support and reinforce tradition, it subverts and lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa movement. Hence, an artwork’s time frame is daily undermines it. Hence art has always been about an art of life, liberated from staged and given rules, with no sacrilege, sacrifice and expenditure, one that multiplies hindrance or guilt. new fetishes for the purpose of a generalized deconstruc- tion of existence, through games, leisure, spectacle and Work of Conjuration the principle of metamorphosis. If there is a characteristic trait of classical African art, it is that one always finds a violence at the beginning of the But what remains today of this utopian function, and what act of creation. In this act, we find a sacrilege and a mimed must be understood by the term “Africa”? transgression, which we hope will make the individual and Achille Mbembe is a Research Professor in history and politics at the Univer- his community emerge from the world as it was and as it is. sity of the Witwatersrand and a Senior Researcher at WISER (Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of the Witwatersrand) in In this hope for liberating hidden or forgotten energies, for Johannesburg. He is the author of On the Postcolony (2001) and The Politi- an eventual reversal of visible and invisible powers—this cal Life of Sovereignty (forthcoming). hidden dream of the resurrection of beings and things— 11 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ Charles Ethan Porter Chrysanthemums What’s Up 1888 Collection of Charlynn and Charles Ethan Porter: Warren Goins 02/ Charles Ethan Porter Haystacks c. 1885 African-American Master of Still Life Collection of The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Foundation April 2–June 29, 2008 for the Arts Lower level

02

Born in Rockville, Connecticut, Charles Ethan Porter In 1869, when he was in his early twenties, Porter began (1847/49–1923) was lauded by his contemporaries four years of study at the New York Academy of Design. as one of the most skilled still-life painters of his By giving art lessons and working various odd jobs, Porter time. Known primarily for depicting was able to support himself during his studies. While there, flowers, fruits and insects, Porter created works he became skilled in the art of creating meticulous and that can be seen as methodical, often theatrical luminously colored paintings of flowers and fruit. After he and carefully considered masterpieces of his native finished his studies, Porter spent a few years living and landscape, from his mother’s lustrous garden to the working in New York. He moved to Hartford, Connecticut, expansive fields and woodlands. Many details of his in 1878 to find the once-familiar New England landscape life remain somewhat mysterious, and only about transformed by industrialization. Three years later he one hundred examples of his work are known to exist left to study in Paris, as was common for painters of today, nearly half of which are on view here. These the era. Mark Twain wrote a letter of recommendation works, drawn from museums and private collections, for Porter to study in Paris, most likely at the Petit École, offer a rare insight into this artist’s oeuvre and into a and he paid for this trip by auctioning off all of the successful American artistic practice bracketed by paintings in his Hartford studio. Porter’s time in France 01 the Civil War and the First World War. was critical to his development as a painter. His practice 13 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ Charles Ethan Porter 03/ Charles Ethan Porter 04/ Charles Ethan Porter Fruit: Apples, Grapes, Peaches, Still Life with Bread and Daisies and Pears Wine Bottle 1884 c. 1875 c. 1883 Courtesy Edgar B. French Collection of Connecticut Collection of The Harmon Historical Society Museum and Harriet Kelley Foundation 05/ Charles Ethan Porter for the Arts Cherries 02/ Charles Ethan Porter c. 1885 Boy and Book Collection of The Harmon Collection of Charlynn and Harriet Kelley Foundation and Warren Goins for the Arts

04 05

was increasingly influenced by the French countryside will forever be known for the masterful skill and talent and by Impressionism, at the time a burgeoning artistic apparent in his paintings and the passion he had movement characterized by visible brushstrokes, an for his craft. emphasis on light, unusual perspectives and the representation of movement. Following its installation at The Studio Museum in Harlem, 01 the exhibition will travel to the Central Porter returned to Hartford in 1884, where his University Art Museum in Durham (August 3 through Impressionist-inspired soft focus and sense of movement October 7, 2008).  were entirely foreign to the established aesthetics that Charles Ethan Porter: African-American Master of Still Life was organized appealed to the Harford art community. At this time by the New Britain Museum of American Art. Porter created a large number of his lesser-known landscapes depicting woodlands, as well as several portraits. Over the next decade Porter moved between his studios in Connecticut and New York, producing some of his finest work, combining his natural talent with his training. In 1897 he returned to his hometown of Rockville, where he lived until his death in 1923.

Charles Ethan Porter is a member of a pioneering generation of African-American artists, like Henry Ossawa Tanner, Edmonia M. Lewis and Edward Mitchell Bannister,

02 who were able to achieve commercial success in the period following the Civil War. Lacking patronage and being ahead of his time, Porter’s name may not be as

03 recognizable as his contemporaries’. Nonetheless, he 15 Studio / Spring 2008 What’s Up Projects on View Harlem Postcards Spring 2008 StudioSound featuring DJ Kemit April 2–June 29, 2008 April 2–June 29, 2008

As music moves and flows today between borders, artists, genres, cultures and friends, how have you seen African music change and develop since you began listening to it? I’ve definitely seen it change. Since my introduction to African music in the early to mid-1980s, I have witnessed it go through several transformations. My first taste of what I think of as Afro- beat was an electronic album by Hugh Masekela titled Techno Bush. This was during the time in American R&B when the record labels were trying to find, or had presumed they had found, the so called “hit formula” for making records. Hugh’s album was a breath of fresh air for the cookie-cutter musical culture spawning here in America. With further investigation and research I found that Afrobeat artists were infusing politics, soul, religion and everyday struggle into their music, which painted a landscape of the suffering and strength of their Marc Handelman Evi Abeler homelands and tribes. I was then introduced to Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Oneness Born 1975, Santa Clara, California Born 1976, Oldenburg, Germany of Juju, Manu Dibango, Matata and a host of others. Then in the mid-1990s, the Lives and works in Brooklyn Lives and works in Harlem infusion of house music into Afrobeat gave birth to a newfound obsession with Untitled, 2006 Mega Millions, 2008 the form on a global level. With the passing of the Great Baba Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the world took notice of his life’s work and political struggle for the im- I first saw this billboard on the far western edge of Harlem Reality and dreams lie so close together in Harlem that provement of the quality of life for Nigerians and all people of color. Afrobeat as a distant reflection in the rearview mirror. As it soon sometimes the transition is seamless, such as when was then becoming more commercial and identifiable in pop, punk, hip-hop vanished from sight, I thought I had exaggerated its audac- potential wealth emerges from the shallows of squalor. and even R&B. Now, in the twenty-first century, I am witnessing Afrobeat ity or imagined it altogether. Returning to the site a few infused in children’s shows, and used as a musical backdrop for commercials, weeks later, I found it as I had remembered it, though its major motion pictures and television shows. What does this mean? Well, two message, which once seemed devastatingly clear, grew things. One, Africans and our diaspora are making a major impact on all facets increasingly abstract the longer I looked at it. To me, the of human life (thanks to the internet, DJs and consumers taking interest and perversity of the billboard lies in a kind of extreme irony spreading the music around the globe). Second, we are now living in an inter- that flaunts self-parody—self-mockery leveled back For this installation of Studio- national/global market in which Africans are making Europe, Asia and America toward the viewer. Sound, DJ Kemit fuses original their own destinations for living, doing business, vacationing and furthering their compositions with music from educations. The residue fertilizes the minds and cultures of those with whom some of his favorite Afrobeat they come in contact, directly and indirectly. Larry Mantello artists. From traditional African Born 1964, Rockford, Illinois rhythms and new music of this For the African music neophyte, what are the five essential albums one See pages Lives and works in Harlem 56-57 millennium, Kemit constructs should have? (1) Soundz on Soundway Records, (2) Nigeria 70 on Afro Welcome To, 2007 a musical terrain in response to Strut Records, (3) Hugh Masekela’s The Boy’s Doin’ It on Casablanca Records, visual stimulation from the art- (4) the Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Africa 70 boxed set on Kalakuta Records and (5) Every year a string of white lights illuminates a “Welcome Pearl C. Hsiung work in the Flow exhibition. Lafayette Afro Rock Band’s Malik on Makossa International Records. to 125th Street” sign that hovers over the street. The Born 1973, Taichung, Taiwan An amalgamation of smoothly sign lasts no longer than the holiday season before be- Lives and works in Los Angeles flowing soundscapes intertwined What album or song do you play on repeat when you need inspiration? ing turned off and neatly packed away for another year. Pet Mash, 2008 with rhythmic musical pulses Fela’s “Roforofo Fight” or “Water No Get Enemy.” Not wanting it to disappear too quickly, I was inspired to will transport listeners into the capture the coolness of the winter greeting. Its sentiments DJ Kemit, born Kevin Hyman in 1969, is CEO of Kemit Muzik, Inc. He began his DJ career at age 12 in Managerial oversight, neighborhood joke or vortex to an al- past and catapult them into the Milwaukee and was heavily influenced by the growing house scene in Chicago. A graduate of Howard echo my interest in acknowledging a sense of place in the ternate universe: this image sits somewhere between the future, while making brief stops University and a one-time member of the Grammy-winning group Arrested Development, Kemit is best known for his work with production partner Justin Chapman (Just One) as KemeticJust. As a world—both real and imaginary. Harlem is a neighborhood accidental, the absurd and the meaningfully transforma- in the present. Grammy-nominated producer for his work on Arrested Development’s second LP and various remixes, his musical delivery is drawn from garage classics, hip-hop anthems, deep house and reggae. I have become accustomed to calling home. tive. For me, this image implicates a concrete reality shift. For information, visit www.myspace.com/djkemit or email [email protected]. 17 Studio / Spring 2008 Projects on View Upcoming Exhibitions More-in-Store featuring Unknown Collection The World Stage: Africa, Lagos ~ Dakar

April 2–June 29, 2008 July 16–October 26, 2008 Kehinde Wiley Mame Ngagne (detail) 2007 Courtesy the artist by Coren Denise Cooper, PR Intern

A hybrid and fusion of the modern and the traditional, The World Stage: Africa, Lagos ~ Dakar will feature of a the cutting-edge works of the artists featured in selection of new paintings by former Studio Museum Unknown Collection are gaining recognition within their artist in residence Kehinde Wiley from his new multina- respective regions. By bringing their work together and tional “World Stage” series. The exhibition, featuring paint- sharing it with the larger world, Sanders seeks to empower ings created during Wiley’s long-term travels in Nigeria these African artisans financially, socially and artistically. and Senegal, is second in this series, for which Wiley A future goal of hers is to provide a percentage of temporarily relocates to different countries and opens the sales to non-governmental organizations that support satellite studios to become familiar with local culture education, health and environmental initiatives in the and history (other “World Stage” sites include China, India, sub-Saharan region. Poland and Turkey). Wiley, known for his stylized paint- ings of urban African-American male youths in poses Unknown Collection and Flow, this season’s exhibition, borrowed from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century are connected in their shared goal of highlighting a new European figurative paintings, continues that process, this generation of international artists of African descent, time with models in poses based on regional sources. For the individuality and complexity of their and The World Stage: Africa, Wiley’s models mimic historical the creative visions inspired by the continent. But each from Dakar, Senegal, and Lagos, Nigeria. project stands on its own like the pearls in a necklace, The World Stage: Africa is curated by Associate Curator allowing viewers to see each collection in a larger frame- Christine Y. Kim and will be Wiley’s first solo exhibition work. Flow into our Museum Store and experience the at the Studio Museum.  Beauty, individuality, complexity and tradition are Unknown Collection with a piece that accents your the known style elements that define Unknown personal style. Collection. This season, the Studio Museum is proud Sanders resides in Accra, Ghana, where she manages the New York to feature Unknown Collection, a wearable art collec- University in Ghana study-abroad program. tion representing the jewelry of local artisans from More-in-Store, the Studio Museum’s initiative to highlight innovative arti- sans, invites local and regional retailers to share a piece of their world with R.S.V.P. Senga eastern, western and southern Africa. ours. More-in-Store is organized by Ali Evans, Tiffany Hu, Coren Cooper and Lea K. Green. Organized by Christa Elise Sanders, Unknown Collection July 16–October 26, 2008 features silver and amber antique pendants and amulets from Ethiopia, and jewelry from Ghana made of ebony, camel bone and coconut shell. It includes silver This summer, the Studio Museum will present R.S.V.P., “panty-hose pieces,” as reflections and expressions of the work from the Tuareg people, Malian wedding an innovative exhibition series that pairs the work of an elasticity and malleability of women’s bodies. In the beads, and agate stone and amber necklaces and rings artist in our permanent collection with new work, by mid-1970s, Nengudi, a dynamic visual artist and dancer from Mali and Niger. You’ll also find striking beadwork another artist, created specifically for the exhibition. It is who often works with fabric and textiles, was one of from South Africa and . fitting that for its inaugural iteration, the exhibition will the first artists—along with David Hammons, Lorraine feature R.S.V.P. (1976) by Senga Nengudi (b. 1943), from O’Grady and Houston Conwill—to exhibit at the Just Above Inspired by the artistic production of regional designers her series of nylon mesh sculptures, “Répondez s’ il vous Midtown Gallery, the first African-American owned and who often have little formal training, Sanders discovered plaît.” Nengudi created these works, also know as operated gallery in New York.  her passion for the visual arts of Africa and began collecting in 1999. Unknown Collection was officially launched October 2006. 19 Studio / Spring 2008 Upcoming Exhibitions

Artists in Residence July 16–October 26, 2008

The artists in residence are so chic this year.

In a multilingual leap from French to English, and every lan- guage in between, “chic” defines that which is sophisticated and undeniably contemporary. Leslie Hewitt, Tanea Richardson and Saya Woolfalk are the latest in a prestigious group to share the Studio Museum’s eponymous work spaces. They’re S_V    DUVYR 3Y\d hard at work developing and refining their projects to offer up Tanea Richardson’s studio, 2008 distinct, carefully considered artworks for their July exhibition. V` N [\[aURZNaVP

Each resident works in a mode in which experimentation restrictions of painting. And Saya Woolfalk’s hand-crafted, ReUVOVaV\[ \S [Rd d\_X is valued as much as answers and process is a part rainbow-colored utopian spaces become stages for per- of, not simply a means to, a product. Leslie Hewitt’s photo- formance and fields for imaginary ethnographic studies. Of adR[af VQV\`f[P_NaVP graphic works insert hauntingly familiar images into architectural space, exploring how appropriated pictures This year’s residents offer three very distinct modes of aes- N_aV`a` dR O_\bTUa preserve vernaculars yet create new meanings in thetic practice that, though indebted to precedents in pho- new contexts. Tanea Richardson’s three-dimensional tography, sculpture, painting and installation, expand into a aUV` T_\b] a\TRaUR_ forms make a surreal escape from the two-dimensional variety of fresh possibilities for making and experiencing art.  b[QR_ aUR V[aR[aV\[NYYf Expanding the Walls: Making Connections b[QRaR_ZV[RQ PNaRT\_f \S ORV[T .S_VPN[ A\ V[aR__\TNaR Between Photography, History and Community dUNa aUV` P\ZZ\[NYVaf ZVTUa ZRN[³\_ ZVTUa [\a July 16–October 26, 2008 ZRN[³dR N`XRQ aUR N_aV`a` a\ ZNXR N [Rd d\_Q b`V[T .aUR YRaaR_` ´.3?6µ DUNa S\YY\d` N_R `\ZR \S aURV_ Each January, the Studio Museum gathers a group of and New York. Expanding the Walls participants also motivated high school students for its annual eight- continue the tradition of working with artists and [R\Y\TV`Z` QRSV[VaV\[` N[Q VZNTR` month, photography-based program that uses the Studio Museum staff to develop their nascent ideas into James VanDerZee Archive—housed at the Museum— a full-scale exhibition. as a springboard for making art that explores notions of community, identity, history and culture. Now in its eighth year, the program remains an impas- sioned consideration of VanDerZee’s timeless themes Palpable excitement accompanies each new group. Each and a testament to the Museum’s commitment to student is eager to take his or her camera and seek out its role as community educator, furthering the dialogues subjects, scenes and cityscapes in and around Harlem begun so many years ago on these Harlem streets.  21 Studio / Spring 2008

.3?6' ._VQ 3\_R`a ?R`RN_PU 6[`aVabaR dddNS_V_R`V[ AUR ._VQ 3\_R`a ?R`RN_PU 6[`aVabaR .3?6 V` QR`VT[RQ a\ ]_\cVQR `\YbaV\[` a\ .S_VPN·` QR`R_aVSVPNaV\[ ]_\OYRZ` 6a` N_RN` \S _R`RN_PU V[PYbQR' A\ QRcRY\] N[Q VZ]_\cR NT_V`VYcV]N`a\_NY `f`aRZ` S\_ N_VQ _RTV\[  A\ QRcRY\] aRPU[V^bR` S\_ _NV[dNaR_ UN_cR`aV[T V[ N_VQ N_RN`  A\ QRcRY\] aRPU[\Y\Tf S\_ NSS\_R`aNaV\[ Na `a_R``RQ `VaR`  2P\`aNOVYVgNaV\[ \S QR`R_a` dVaU RZ]UN`V` \[ `N[Q Qb[R SVeNaV\[  A\ QRcRY\] aRPU[V^bR` S\_ ]_\QbPaV\[ \S UVTU^bNYVaf ]YN[aV[T ZNaR_VNY  =_\cR[N[PR a_VNY \S VZ]\_aN[a N_VQg\[R `]RPVR`  @abQVR` \[ OV\SR_aVYVgR_` N[Q OV\]R`aVPVQR`  ?R`RN_PU \[ [\[ d\\Q S\_R`a ]_\QbPa` \S aUR N_VQ g\[R  A_RR VZ]_\cRZR[a aU_\bTU aV``bR PbYab_R N[Q TR[RaVP R[TV[RR_V[T ² :\b[V_ 3NaZV

NS_UVg\ZR' 9VXR N _UVg\ZR N ]\dR_SbY _\\a _VPU V[ _R`\b_PR` aUR .S_VPN[ `]_V[T` \ba V[ NYY QV_RPaV\[`( UR NSSV_Z` UV` ZbYaV]YR VQR[aVaVR` N[Q P\Y\_` N[fdUR_R aUNa NOb[QN[PR .33333?6<9.;A' t SY\a`  N SY\d' `RRZ ]\``VOYR N[Q [RPR``N_f a\ UVZ NYYb_V[T  `RQbPR_  NS_VZNQ  ZV`N_VNXN DR·Q [RRQ ´3µ a\ ZNXR 3Y\d ² AUVR__f 3\[aNV[R NO`\YbaRYf PUN_ZV[T  ZN[WN  aR[QR_  UNSNUNSN  DR·Q b`R ´3µ a\ 3Yf NdNf a_{` NYYzPUN[a  S\S\S\  Naa_NPaV\[  NaaV_N[a  aVNX\  DR·Q NY`\ [RRQ ´3µ a\ ObVYQ .S_VPN ]N``V\[  Y\cR_  PUN_ZN[a  c\[V[XNg\ `\N  QR`V_R  9Ra·` UNcR N P_f \S S_RRQ\Z V_f  V[`]V_NaV\[  `RQbPaV\[  ZVO\VO\VXN  XV[aN[N  3\_ .S_VPN A\ .S_VPN[VgR V` a\ aRZ]aNaV\[  VN[N\ VN[N\ .S_VPN[VgR' DUVPU Zb`a OR V[c\YcRQ V[ aUR TY\ONY SY\d 0VcVYVgR AUV` V` aNXR[ S_\Z aUR aVaYR \S N ² 7\}Y .[Q_VN[\ZRN_V`\N ² .[N[VN` 9zXV 1NT\ cVQR\ 6 ZNQR V[  aUNa QRP\[`a_bPa` aUR ZRN[V[T \S ORV[T N PVcVYVgRQ UbZN[ ORV[T ² 4_NPR ;QV_Vab 23 Studio / Spring 2008 .S_VPUV' . aVaYR aUNa `]RNX` \S aUR ZVeRQ [Nab_R \S UbZN[ ORV[T` 6 UNcR NYdNf` ORR[ Q_Nd[ a\ aUR 2N`a .S_V[\VQ' =\dR_ \S YVXR N ZNQ d\ZN[ N[Q \SaR[ dUR[ 6 `bTTR`aV\[ aUR PN]NPVaf a\ NYYbQR UNQ a\ Re]YNV[ aUV` Y\cR Va QVQ [\a ZNXR N[Q Rc\XR `R[`R @\ 6 Y\\XRQ Na Zf T_N[QZ\aUR_·` ² 1NdVa 9 =Ra_\` PY\aUR` N[Q a\\X UR_ NZNgV[TYf ORNbaV SbY T\d[ 6·Z dRN_V[T UR_R 2cR[ aU\bTU aUR SNO_VP dN` NQ\]aRQ N` .S_VPN[ V[ aUR YNaR &#` N[Q &$` Of T_\b]` aUNa dR_R ]_\OYNPX S_\Z Zb`VPVN[` a\ ]\YVaVPVN[` aUNa SNO_VP `P_RNZRQ ´/9.08;2@@µ S\_ ZR Va·` N 1baPU ]_V[a ZNQR V[ 2N`a .`VN 8[\dV[T U\d aUR 1baPU N[Q aURV_ QR`PR[QN[a` QR`VT[RQ N[Q RZORQQRQ N]N_aURVQ V[ @\baU .S_VPN ZNQR ZR _RNYVgR U\d P\Z]YVPNaRQ N UbZN[ ORV[T V` 5\d P\bYQ OYNPX ]R\]YR dU\ dR_R .S_V´XV[µ' 8V[ ORV[T \]]_R``RQ NQ\]a `\ZRaUV[T dVaU `bPU N QRSV[RQ V[ _RYNaV\[ a\ N P\ZZ\[ UV`a\_f N[Q ZNXR Va _R]_R`R[a ]_VQR Y\cR N[PR`a\_ \_ P\[`aVabaV[T N SNZVYf N[Q `\ZRaUV[T ]\`VaVcR, ² A_\X\[ ;NTOR ² ;\[a`VXRYRY\ ´9\Y\µ CRYRX\

.S_VQNf 9VSR' 8VQ` T\V[T a\ `PU\\Y ]N_R[a` T\V[T a\ d\_X S_VR[Q` RNaV[T \ba `abQR[a` T_NQbNaV[T S_\Z b[VcR_`Vaf `b_TR\[` `NcV[T YVcR` d\ZR[ Q\V[T Ob`V[R`` NQcN[PRZR[a V[cR[aV\[ Y\cR _\ZN[PR N[Q NYY aUR \aUR_ T\\Q `abSS aUNa UN] ]R[` RcR_fQNf NP_\`` .S_VPN Oba T\R` YN_TRYf b[_R ]\_aRQ V[ aUR ´QRcRY\]RQµ d\_YQ `f[\[fZ' U\]R N[a\[fZ' QV`N`aR_ ]\_[ ² 9f[RaaR FVNQ\Z/\NXfR 25 Studio / Spring 2008

.S_VdNcR' AUR ]_RSVe ´.S_Vµ UN` YVZVaNaV\[` V[ aR_Z` \S aUR ZRN[V[T` Va PN[ U\YQ . dNcR UN` [\ P\Y\_ N[Q [\ ORTV[[V[T \_ R[Q 6a `VZ]Yf SY\d` .[ b[YVZ VaRQ SY\d \S VQRN` V` R``R[aVNY V[ P_RNaV[T N_a ² 2YVN` @VZR

NS_V O_RNaU V aNXR ² :b`aNSN :NYbXN

NS_V aVZR V Y\\X V[ aUR ZV__\_ ² :b`aNSN :NYbXN .S_\OYV^bR N N b[V^bR O_N[Q \S \OSb`PNaV\[ O N[f T\\Q P\[aV[R[aNY [N__NaVcR NS_V QNf YVSR O\b[Q Of aUNa `]RPVNY N[Q NYY a\\ ² :b`aNSN :NYbXN ]R_cN`VcR S\_Z \S ´.S_VPN[ _R`\b_PRSbY[R``µ aUR b[NP^bNV[a RQ ZVTUa ZV`P\[`a_bR N` ´PY\bQRQ RaUVP`µ S\_ aUR ]b_]\`R \S ´b[PR_ aNV[ V[aR[aV\[`(µ aUR RcVQR[PR dVYY OR V[ aUR d\_X N[Q N]]N_R[a V[ aUR [Nab_R \S aUR cR[bR` .[Q dUNa dVYY NYdNf` RZR_TR V` aUR ]b_cRf N[PR \S N ZbYaVYNfR_RQ N[Q b[V^bRYf \_ TR[R_VP ´.S_VPN[µ `R[`VOVYVaf \[R aUNa b[Q\bOaRQYf P\[cV[PR` Va` V[aR[QRQ NbQVR[PR \S Va` V[a_V[`VP ZR_Va ²

NS_V aUV[T V` [\a dUNa Va `RRZ` ² :b`aNSN :NYbXN 27 Studio / Spring 2008 Invisible Man (two views) Read It Now! 1991 Courtesy the artist How to See a Work of Art in Total Darkness by Darby English

Work by black artists today is almost uniformly un- Beyond Black derstood in terms of its “blackness,” with audiences often expecting or requiring it to “represent” the Representational Space race. In How to See a Work of Art in Total Darkness, Excerpted from Chapter 1, pages 27–29 Darby English shows how severely such expectations What becomes of black art when black artists stop making limit the scope of our knowledge about this work, and it? Without being much remarked as yet, the category’s how different it looks when approached on its own instability now defines it far more clearly than do its sup- terms. Refusing to grant racial blackness—his meta- posed contents, as “black art” has come to have less and phorical “total darkness”— primacy over his subjects’ less descriptive bearing (which is not to say influence) on other concerns and contexts, he brings to light prob- the work many black artists actually produce. In seeking to lems and possibilities that arise when questions of restructure the symbols of an experience varyingly sub- artistic priority and freedom come into contact, sumed by its “blackness,” these artists do not endeavor or even conflict, with those of cultural obligation. simply to do more than just race work with their art, but English examines the integrative and interdisciplin- precisely to be seen as doing so. One of my objectives ary strategies of five contemporary artists—, Fred Wilson, Isaac Julien, Glenn Ligon and here is to underscore the losses entailed by mistaking the William Pope.L—stressing the ways in which this appreciably black spirit of this art for a wholesale enlist- work at once reflects and alters our view of its in- ment in a category that In a seminal essay from 1988, Stuart Hall, in an effort to define what counts as politics or progress within black forming context: the advent of postmodernity in late would become its only con- explain the effective mobilization within postwar black cultures, and to deflect attention from the definers’ con- twentieth-century American art and culture. text. For this practical trans- British culture of structuralist and poststructuralist con- tingency, as well as investigating class’s discrepant determina- formation brings with it the ceptions of subjectivity and culture, observes a shift from tion of race and “crossing questions of racism irrevocably The necessity for “black art” comes both from anti- more difficult truth that the a set of “struggles over the relations of representation” with questions of sexuality.”3 But if we fixate too heavily on black racism and resistances to it, from both segre- category “black art” is now to a “politics of representation itself.” 1 Hall describes a the transitional nature of this development, it becomes gation and efforts to imagine an autonomous domain exposed as one among momentous displacement of focus, at one moment, on harder both to ask certain crucial questions about the of black culture. Yet to judge by the work of many those many residual identity the development of authenticating antiracist representa- current embattled state of “black art” and to posit replies contemporary practitioners, English writes, black art frameworks painstakingly tions of blackness in Britain, a development largely sup- that are aptly historical. For the “end of the essential black is increasingly less able—and black artists less willing— constructed for use in a time pressive of black difference: while at another, claims to subject” also brings its history into a different light, where to maintain its standing as a realm apart. Through whose urgencies are simply black Britishness had come to be represented as consti- that subject’s disparate identifications and desires, affilia- close examinations of Walker’s controversial silhou- not those of our own. That is, tuting a fragmented field of knowledges and identities tions and commitments begin to make extremely prob- ettes’ insubordinate reply to pictorial tradition, where the struggle for recog- engaged in an interminable contest over representational lematic the ways in which we typically take up the black Wilson’s and Julien’s distinct approaches to institu- nition is concerned, in some measure the terms of victory hegemony, and this contest itself mounted a challenge to cultural text 4 from inside our cultural space.  tional critique, Ligon’s text paintings’ struggle with may themselves have precipitated a new struggle of an the traditional, mimetic concept of representation that Darby English is Assistant Professor of art history at the University modernisms and Pope.L’s vexing performance inter- 2 altogether different kind: to trip up or thwart recognition, had hitherto reigned. Thus the recognition of difference of Chicago. He is coeditor of Kara Walker: Narratives of a Negress ventions, English grounds his contention that to (MIT Press, 2003). to open a negotiation that draws looking beyond the sur- came to challenge the hegemony based on “the innocent understand this work is to displace race from its face. The projects discussed in the chapters that follow notion of an essential black subject” whose integrated ego http://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262050838/ central location in our interpretation and to grant are just the most visible signs of a shift in which the cat- an extensive set of cultural representations collectivizes 1. Stuart Hall, “New Ethnicities,” in Stuart Hall: Critical Dialogues right of way to the work’s historical, cultural and in Cultural Studies, ed. David Morley and Kuan-Hsing Chen (London: egory “black art”—as an enclosing epistemological struc- into a steady foundation. The emergence of difference Routledge, 1996), 441–449. aesthetic specificity. 2. David Scott, “Stuart Hall’s Ethics,” Small Axe 9:1 (2005): 1–16. ture reinforced through acts of recognition—has become into the space of cultural criticism necessitates the real- 3. Hall, 445. a historical problem in need of consideration. This chapter ization that the “black subject cannot be represented 4. Ibid. comprises a speculative historical analysis of the catego- without reference to the divisions of class, gender, sexual- Now in ry’s attainment of an authority with which it would articu- ity, and ethnicity,” and that coping with this complication the late the black artist’s project before she, and it, have the means destabilizing “particular conceptions of black Museum chance to speak for themselves. masculinity,” some of which were generalized in order to Store 29 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ Barkley L. Hendricks 02/ Art Smith 03/ David Hammons Misc. Tyrone (Tyrone Smith) Half & Half Necklace Untitled Elsewhere: Art Beyond the Studio Museum 1976 1948 1989 Collection of Blake Byrne, Photo: Courtesy Courtesy the artist and Los Angeles Mark McDonald Hirshhorn Museum Completely Biased, Entirely Opinionated Hot Picks and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, by Thelma Golden Washington, DC

Barkley L. Hendricks: The Modernist Jewelry Birth of the Cool of Art Smith at , Brooklyn, NY Duke University, Durham, NC May 14, 2008–May 14, 2009 February 7–July 13, 2008 www.brooklynmuseum.org www.nasher.duke.edu For the next year, the Brooklyn Museum The influential painter Barkley Hendricks will display twenty pieces of fabulous has a long history with The Studio jewelry made by Art Smith (1917–1982), Museum in Harlem, dating back to his along with sketches, photographs and 1980 solo exhibition organized by Mary other archival materials. In addition to Schmidt Campbell. You will remember being one of the leading jewelers of the his work more recently from African mid-twentieth century, Smith was an Queen (2005) and Represent: Selections activist for black and gay civil rights and from The Studio Museum in Harlem at an avid supporter of early black modern the New York State Museum (2006–07). dance groups. The exhibition will be I’m thrilled that the Studio Museum will complemented by a presentation of present this significant exhibition later jewelry from the Museum’s collection by this year (November 12, 2008—March Smith’s contemporaries. 15, 2009), but in the meantime you can catch it at the Nasher Museum, where it was organized by curator Trevor 02 NeoHooDoo: Art for Schoonmaker. Hendricks’s compelling a Forgotten Faith portraits from the last forty years, The Menil Collection, Houston, TX including the Studio Museum’s iconic June 27–September 21, 2008 Lawdy Mama (1969), are assembled www.menil.org on an unprecedented scale, comple- mented by recent paintings of the “NeoHooDoo,” a phrase coined by poet Jamaican landscape. Ishmael Reed in 1970, signifies the practice of rituals, folklore and spirituality in the Americas beyond the scope of organized religion. NeoHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith features a group of artists who embrace religion and ritual in their work as a way of exploring their cultural heritage, 01 offering political critique and addressing issues including slavery and colonialism. Curated by Franklin Sirmans, NeoHooDoo will include work by , Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and for- 03 mer Studio Museum artists in residence David Hammons (1980–81) and William Cordova (2004–05). 31 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ Lyle Ashton Harris 02/ Stan Douglas 03/ Ghada Amer 04/ Wifredo Lam 05/ Julie Mehretu Untitled (Kokrobitey #3) Overture Red Diagonales Femme assise Grey Space (distractor) 2005 1986 2000 (Seated Woman) 2006 Courtesy the artist © Stan Douglas Courtesy the artist 1955 Courtesy The Project, and CRG Gallery, Courtesy David Zwirner, and Gagosian Gallery, Collection of Hirshhorn New York New York New York New York Museum and Sculpture Garden

Wifredo Lam in North America Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL February 8–May 18, 2008 www.miamiartmuseum.org

Wifredo Lam in North America includes approximately seventy paintings and works on paper from the influential twentieth-century Cuban artist, all on loan from North 03 American collections. The exhibition Ghada Amer: catalogue includes an essay by Dr. Love Has No End , former Director Elizabeth A. Sackler Center of the Studio Museum and an expert 01 for Feminist Art, Brooklyn on Lam’s work. Museum, Brooklyn, NY Lyle Ashton Harris: Blow Up Archive Fever: February 16–October 19, 2008 The Scottsdale Museum of Uses of the Document www.brooklynmuseum.org Julie Mehretu: City Sitings Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ in Contemporary Art Williams College Museum of Art, February 8–May 27, 2008 International Center of Another exciting exhibition at the Williamstown, MA www.smoca.org Photography, New York, NY Brooklyn Museum, Love Has No End April 19–July 27, 2008 January 18–May 4, 2008 is the first U.S. survey of the work of www.wcma.org Blow Up is the first museum survey www.icp.org Egyptian-born, Harlem-based of artist and photojournalist Lyle Julie Mehretu, one of the Studio Renowned curator and scholar multimedia artist Ghada Amer. While Ashton Harris. Structured as a non- Here are some Museum’s best-known artists in (and friend of the Studio Museum) Amer is best known for her delicate must-see linear of images and works residence (2000–01), last year cre- Okwui Enwezor has organized a new and provocative embroidered from different periods in Harris’s exhibitionsI’m not that 04 ated five paintings specifically for City exhibition exploring the use and paintings, this exhibition also career, the exhibition also includes Sitings. Originally presented at the significance of archival materials in includes examples of her work in going to miss! the monumental installation Accra Detroit Institute of Arts, these new contemporary art. With a focus on sculpture, drawing, performance, My Love (2007–08), inspired by and works and seven other recent paint- how artists use photography and film installation and garden design from including materials gathered during ings inspired by physical and social to rethink the meaning of identity, the last two decades. Harris’s travels in Africa. characteristics of the urban environ- history, memory and loss, Archive ment come to the East Coast. Fever includes work produced from the 1960s to the present by artists including Stan Douglas, Zoe Leonard, Glenn Ligon and .

02 05 33 Studio / Spring 2008 01/ William Cordova 02/ Edward Burra 03/ Jefferson Pinder 04/ Robin Rhodes The House that Frank Harlem Juke: Jefferson (Space Color Chart Lloyd Wright built 4 Fred 1934 Oddity) (digital video still) 2004/2006 Hampton and Mark Clark Courtesy Tate Modern, 2006 Courtesy the Orange 2006 London Courtesy the artist County Museum of Art, Courtesy the artist and California Arndt & Partner, Berlin

Whitney Biennial 2008 After 1968: Contemporary The Whitney Museum of Artists and the American Art, New York, NY Civil Rights Legacy March 6–June 1, 2008 High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA www.whitney.org June 7–October 5, 2008 www.high.org I was delighted to serve on an advisory team for the 2008 Biennial, which This exhibition includes contem- was co-curated by Shamim Momin porary work related to the Civil and Henriette Huldisch. Of the Rights movement by current Studio eighty-one artists in the show, several Museum artist in residence Leslie have Studio Museum connections. Hewitt, past artists in residence Deb- Look for new work by current and orah Grant (2002–03) and Nadine former artists in residence William 03 Robinson (2000–01), and Frequency Cordova, Rashawn Griffin, Leslie artists Adam Pendleton, Jefferson Hewitt and Michael Queenland, as Pinder and Hank Willis Thomas. well as Edgar Arceneaux, Kevin Disorderly Conduct: Jerome Everson, Coco Fusco, Adler Recent Art in 01 Guerrier, Spike Lee, Rodney McMillian Tumultuous Times and Eduardo Sarabia. Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA February 3–May 25, 2008 Edward Burra www.ocma.net Tate Britain, London, UK January 21–May 4, 2008 Featuring artists Rodney McMil- www.tate.org.uk lian (who you will remember from Frequency and Philosophy of Time British painter Edward Burra (1905– Travel), Glenn Kaino (Black Belt) and 1976), an avid traveler fascinated by Robin Rhodes, Disorderly Conduct popular culture and urban life, lived includes projects by artists whose in Harlem from 1933–34. Taking his work addresses political turmoil 1934 watercolor Harlem as its focus, 04 and cultural tumult. this display includes works created during or inspired by Burra’s time in Glass Beads of Ghana Black Is Black Ain’t New York, and uses archival material The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ The Renaissance Society at the University of to illuminate his experience of the January 30, 2008–June 15, 2009 Chicago, Chicago, IL political and cultural vibrancy of www.newarkmuseum.org April 20–June 8, 2008 the . www.renaissancesociety.org Odili Donald Odita: FLOW Don’t Contemporary Arts Center, miss! Dave McKenzie Cincinnati, OH REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA November 10, 2007–Fall 2008 April 24–June 15, 2008 www.contemporaryartscenter.org www.redcat.org 02 35 Studio / Spring 2008 Education Education and Worldwide Public Programs Listing Spring 2008

by Romi Crawford, Curator and Director of Education and Public Programs

Many of our education pro- grams take place beyond the April 2008 walls of the Museum. What S M T W TH F S our educators see and learn on their visits to area class- 1 2 3 4 5 rooms is often an education

Photo: Ray Llanos Ray Photo: in its own right. Recently, one 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 of our team visited a class where the black American 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 kids ostracize and put down the black African kids, mostly because their parents dress in traditional garb 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 and speak foreign languages. Hostility of this sort is an unfortunate part of the first-generation experience, 27 28 29 30 one that all newcomers go through to some extent. But black children chiding other black children because of Watson Russell Photo: cultural differences also points to interesting questions May 2008 Adult Programs Senior Programs about the limits of the shared experience of persons of S M T W TH F S The Studio Museum in Harlem has a long tradition of Calling all seniors! It’s time to get out and socialize! African descent. Do black consider them- presenting programs that address prevalent issues Spend a Saturday afternoon at the Studio Museum selves connected to black people from other parts of 1 2 3 in contemporary art by artists of African descent. during these exclusive tours and programs that explore the world? Is there any commonality between people Through the Department of Education and Public our current exhibitions. of African descent who live in the , Eu- 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Programs, we offer a range of programs that engage Tours for Seniors are FREE. Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. rope, the Caribbean or Africa? Is the idea of blackness Pre- registration is required. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 artists, writers, scholars and critics. enough to unify black people worldwide? Senior Programs are supported, in part, by New York State Council on the Arts, Adult Programs are supported by a major grant from MetLife Foundation. a state agency. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 These are not new issues. The founders of the Négri- Family Programs tude movement of the 1930s and the black power cam- Youth Programs 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Are you looking for something fun to do with your kids? paigns of the 1960s and 1970s attempted to address The Museum hosts free programs for high school stu- Bring the family to the Studio Museum and experience these concerns. Perhaps what’s really at stake isn’t our dents outside the school environment. These programs art in new and exciting ways! natural relatedness but the willingness and desire offer students opportunities to meet and converse with to forge and construct relationships with other people June 2008 prominent visual artists, express their ideas through Family Fun @ the Studio! of African descent. Even if our connections to each discussions, facilitate tours and hands-on workshops S M T W TH F S The Studio Museum offers free admission to all visitors other are tenuous and unresolved, and even if some and develop important communication and critical on the first Saturday of each month through its Free don’t buy into such connections, we can at least imag- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 thinking skills. First Saturdays! program. Family Fun is a special pro- ine, build and aspire toward a relationship with other Youth Programs are FREE. Pre-registration is required. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 gram offered on select Saturdays to children and their to register. black people. parents or guardians to experience the fun of exploring Youth Programs are supported by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; Time Warner Inc.; 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 art together. This monthly program features festive JPMorgan Chase Foundation; Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Trust; New York State This season we’ll bring the students from the class Council on the Arts, a state agency; and Colgate-Palmolive Inner City Education Fund. activities for children ages four to ten and their families. mentioned above, and others, into close proximity and 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Family Programs are FREE. Pre-registration is required. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 Group Tours contact with art by a range of African artists, none of to register. Get the most out of your visit to the Studio Museum whom live exclusively on the continent of Africa, but all 29 30 31 Family Programs are funded in part, by public funds from the New York State Office through our exciting interactive group tours! We of whom spend some time there. This may confound of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation made available through the office of Assemblyman Keith L. Wright. welcome groups to the exhibitions and Harlem’s rich the third graders, as well some adults, who seldom SPECIAL PROGRAMS SENIOR PROGRAMS YOUTH PROGRAMS architectural landscape. consider the presence of African persons, here, there and everywhere in between.  ADULT PROGRAMS FAMILY PROGRAMS To schedule a tour, please call 212.864.4500 x230. 37 Studio / Spring 2008 Sunday, April 6, 1–6 pm that helps foster relationships between film industry Charles Ethan Porter Cracked Watermelon April 2008 Artist-in-Residence Open Studio executives and filmmakers from traditionally underrep- c. 1890 Courtesy Michael resented communities, partner on this new initiative that Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, S M T W TH F S Welcome 2007–08 Studio Museum artists in residence highlights the work of emerging and established filmmak- New York City Leslie Hewitt, Tanea Richardson and Saya Woolfalk and 1 2 3 4 5 ers. Join us in the Museum’s Theater for a special screen- be among the first to visit their studios. This is a great ing and conversation with an eclectic group of individuals opportunity to preview their new work and meet the 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 who will join the director to discuss the themes and the artists during their year-long tenures at the Museum. making of the film. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Conceived at the formation of the Museum over thirty years ago, the Artist-in-Residence program remains Film Focus is FREE. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. central to The Studio Museum in Harlem’s mission. 27 28 29 30 The Artist-in-Residence Open Studio is FREE. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. Space/seating is limited and available on a first-come, May 2008 first-served basis.

The Artist’s Voice The Artist-in-Residence program and annual exhibition are presented with the support S M T W TH F S Finally, an opportunity to be a part of the conversation! of Nimoy Foundation; Elaine Dannheisser Foundation; The Greenwall Foundation; New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; Helena Rubinstein Foundation; Saturday, May 3, 10 am–12 pm These evenings of interaction with artists will get you Jerome Foundation; R & B Feder Charitable Foundation for the Beaux Arts; Milton 1 2 3 and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; and by endowments established by the Jacob and Fun with Still-Life! Exploring Charles Ethan Porter: talking. The Artist’s Voice series provides a forum for Gwendolyn Lawrence Trust and Andrea Frank Foundation. African-American Master of Still Life artists to explain the philosophies underlying their work 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and for audiences to ask questions. Tuesday, April 8, 5–7 pm 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 After viewing images of Porter’s work, enjoy an art-making K–12 Educators Workshop workshop where you’ll try your hand at still-life painting. Thursday, April 3, 7–9 pm 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Bring a small to medium-sized item from home to be The Studio Museum offers exhibition-specific workshops The Artist’s Voice: Flow! included in this interactive workshop! and seminars that focus on using the Museum as a resource Panel Discussion Moderated by Christine Y. Kim, 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 for developing cultural literacy. Join us for a guided tour Associate Curator Saturday, May 3, 2–3 pm and learn how to transfer the themes explored in the Thursday, May 1, 7–9 pm Tours for Seniors: Exploring Flow, Part II Flow is an international exhibition of new work by twenty current exhibitions to the classroom. The Artist’s Voice: Odili Donald Odita emerging artists from Africa, whose varied practices K–2 Educators Workshop is FREE. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. engage with discourses in visual art, philosophy and global The Museum’s educator programs are supported by a major grant from Please join us for a talk with recent Louis Comfort Tiffany popular culture. This panel, featuring several of the Flow The Wachovia Foundation. Award winner, Odili Donald Odita. His newly commissioned artists, will highlight the creative impetus behind their works work Equalizer is currently on view in the Museum’s and projects currently on view at the Studio Museum. Tuesday, April 22, 7–9 pm Project Space. Books & Authors: Bedtime Stories: The Artist’s Voice is FREE. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served The Artist’s Voice is FREE. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. Adventures in the Land of Single- basis. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. The Artist’s Voice is made possible by MetLife Foundation and an endowment Fatherhood with Trey Ellis The Artist’s Voice is made possible by MetLife Foundation and an endowment established by the Ron Carter Family in memory of Studio Museum in Harlem Trustee established by the Ron Carter Family in memory of Studio Museum in Harlem Trustee Janet Carter. Janet Carter. Bedtimes Stories: Adventures in

the Land of Single-Fatherhood tells Bami Adedoyin Saturday, April 5, 10 am–12 pm 6 Train the true story of Trey Ellis, and how Go with the Flow! 2003 he came to raise his three-year-old Courtesy the artist Join a guided tour of Flow in which we’ll explore photo- daughter and eight-month-old son by himself. Among graphs, drawings and paintings created by artists from Af- the most creative of nonfiction writers, Ellis has written Sunday, May 11, 2–4 pm rica. In a hands-on workshop, flex your creative muscles as a deeply moving, funny and sexy memoir about raising Books & Authors: A Maysles Scrapbook: Photographs/ you make your own artwork from a variety of fun materials! kids while looking again for love. Cinemagraphs/Documents with Albert Maysles Books & Authors is FREE. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. Saturday April 5, 2–3 pm This four-hundred-page book, with an introduction by Books & Authors is made possible, in part, by New York State Council on the Arts, Tours for Seniors: Exploring Flow, Part I a state agency. Martin Scorsese, is the first comprehensive monograph on the Maysles brothers, the pioneer filmmaking team that set the standards of contemporary documentary New! Monday, April 28, 6–8 pm Saturday, May 3, 10 am–3 pm filmmaking. This program will include a screening of three Film Focus: Screening and Conversation HandsOn: Cameras – How to Build Your Own with short films from the Maysles archive. Bami Adedoyin The Studio Museum in Harlem and Tribeca All Access, a Books & Authors is FREE. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served year-round signature program of the Tribeca Film Institute Learn how to make a camera using everyday materials basis. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. with photographer Bami Adedoyin. Books & Authors is made possible by support from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and MetLife Foundation. ADULT PROGRAMS FAMILY PROGRAMS SPECIAL PROGRAMS SENIOR PROGRAMS YOUTH PROGRAMS

39 Studio / Spring 2008 complexities of a knotty relationship with Brenda, her first black employee. Playing in the Light is as powerful in its DIY Art Activity depiction of Marion’s personal journey as it is in its depic- tion of South Africa’s bizarre, brutal history. Still-Life Picture Books & Authors is FREE. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. by Shanta Scott, School and Family Programs

Books & Authors is made possible by support from the New York State Council on the Coordinator Arts, a state agency, and MetLife Foundation. A still-life is a picture of objects arranged together on a Wednesday, June 25, 8 pm flat surface. Flowers, fruit and vegetables are just a few Hoofers’ House of the objects that nineteenth-century painter Charles The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street Ethan Porter captured in his still-life paintings. What

objects would you include in a still-life picture? Follow Photo: Russell Watson Russell Photo: In honor of the important place of tap dancing in Harlem’s these easy steps to creating your own Porter-inspired Early Bird Special! Expanding the Walls 2009 history, the Studio Museum now partners with The Kitchen still life and give it a try! to create a home for hoofers. This spring we will showcase Apply early for Expanding the Walls, an eight-month the fine footwork of a few dancers who are sure to burn up program for high school students that uses the archives the floor! Tap dancers show your shoes to get in free. Here’s what you’ll need: of renowned Harlem photographer James VanDerZee White paper For more information please call The Kitchen at 212.255.5793 or visit as a catalyst for discussion and art-making. The program www.thekitchen.org. Watercolor paints, markers or colored pencils provides behind-the-scenes access to the Studio Three or four of your favorite objects of different Museum’s staff of curators and educators, and teaches shapes and sizes the fundamentals of 35 mm photography. The program concludes with an exhibition of photographs by students Here’s what to do: and VanDerZee, curated by the program’s participants. Choose three or four of your favorite items from around

Upon completion of the program, participants receive a $500 stipend and can keep the house. Plants, fruits, jars and even toys make great the camera provided by the Museum for the program. For more information or to request an application, please call 212.864.4500 x256. still-life objects! Accra Shepp Leonardo Expanding the Walls is supported by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; Time Warner 2006 Inc.; New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; JPMorgan Chase Foundation; Courtesy the artist and Colgate-Palmolive Inner City Education Fund.

Saturday, May 17, 10:30 am–2:30 pm ArtLooks: Queens Bound with Accra Shepp June 2008 S M T W TH F S Meet at the Museum and journey with us to Queens for a Arrange your objects together on a table in any way you visit with photographer Accra Shepp to see his studio and 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 like, then sit comfortably in front of them with your learn about his unique “Leaf Print” photographic process. materials. ArtLooks is funded by an endowment established by the Jacob and Gwendolyn 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Lawrence Trust. Additional support is provided by New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

New! Wednesday, May 28, 6–8 pm 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Topic in Focus Panel: Black Transculturalism

29 30 31 Llanos Ray Photo: Several scholars and artists convene to discuss how Paint or draw the objects to create your still life. notions of diaspora have been used to frame an interna- Tuesday, June 17, 7–9 pm Thursday, June 26, 7:30 pm Hang your still life in a special place for everyone to see! tional or globally relevant black art. They will consider both Books & Authors: Playing In the Light with Zoe Wicomb Festival Network presents the JVC Jazz Festival New York the appeal and critiques of this paradigm and explore The Billy Harper Quintet the possibilities for renewed and alternative frameworks Set in a beautifully rendered 1990s Cape Town, Zoe Live at The Studio Museum in Harlem to describe the experience of transnationality. Wicomb’s celebrated novel revolves around Marion

Campbell, who runs a travel agency but hates traveling, Topics in Focus is FREE. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served The concert is $20 at the door; $15 for advance tickets, students and seniors; basis. Please call 212.864.4500 x264 to reserve a space. and who, in post-apartheid society, must negotiate the and $12 for members. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration is required and early registration is encouraged. Please call Adult Programs are funded, in part, by Metlife Foundation. 212.864.4500 x 264 to purchase tickets.

The JVC Jazz Festival is presented by George Wein and Festival Productions, Inc.

ADULT PROGRAMS FAMILY PROGRAMS SPECIAL PROGRAMS SENIOR PROGRAMS YOUTH PROGRAMS For more exciting hands-on art activities, keep an eye out for Target Sundays at the Studio Museum, featuring fun activities for families! 41 Studio / Spring 2008 Trenton Doyle Hancock Flower Bed II, a Prelude Joyce Alexander Wein Prize to Damnation (detail) 2008 Courtesy the artist Trenton Doyle Hancock and James Cohan . =\_a_NVa Gallery, New York \ S N[ ._aV`a Of N[ ._aV`a Istanbul Biennials, and Splat Boom Pow! The influence of Comics in .YV 2cN[` 2QVa\_V[0UVRS Contemporary Art (2003), orga- nized by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. A major solo exhibition, Trenton Doyle Hancock: The Wayward Thinker was on view last year at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.

Hancock’s work is represented in permanent collections, includ- AU_\bTU aURV_ d\_X N[Q ]_NPaVPR` P\[aRZ]\_N_f N_aV`a` _RSYRPa aUR `aNaR ing those of The Studio Museum \S aUR d\_YQ N[Q Va` ]R\]YR N[Q ]YNPR` DR Z\`a \SaR[ P\ZR a\ X[\d in Harlem, Whitney Museum of N_aV`a` aU_\bTU aURV_ P_RNaVcR R[QRNc\_` Oba dR _N_RYf `RR aUR a_bR YVXR American Art, Brooklyn Museum, [R``R` \S N_aV`a` aURZ`RYcR` Museum of , San Francisco A_NQVaV\[NYYf ]\_a_NVab_R³aUR ]VPa\_VNY _R]_R`R[aNaV\[ \S N ]R_`\[³ and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. UN` ORR[ QRSV[RQ N[Q QV`aV[TbV`URQ Of aUR _RYNaV\[`UV] ORadRR[ aUR `bO He is represented by James Cohan WRPa N[Q aUR N_aV`a AUV` S\_Z \S _R]_R`R[aNaV\[ NYY\d` N_aV`a` a\ PN]ab_R On October 29, 2007, the second annual Joyce Alexander Wein prize Gallery, New York, and Dunn and aUR N]]RN_N[PR R``R[PR N[Q Z\\Q \S N ]R_`\[ Na N `]RPVSVP Z\ZR[a was awarded to Trenton Doyle Hancock. The Wein Prize recognizes the Brown Contemporary, Dallas. achivements of an African-American artist who embodies great innova- V[ aVZR a\ P\[`a_bPa N `]RPVSVP PUN_NPaR_ON`RQ [N__NaVcR DVaU aUV` [Rd tion, promise and creativity. Established by jazz impresario, musician @abQV\ ]_\WRPa dR aNXR aUV` VQRN N[Q \SSR_ Va a\ N_aV`a` dU\ b`R ]\_a_NVab_R You can see Hancock’s work this and philanthropist George Wein in memory of his wife, longtime Studio V[ aURV_ ]_NPaVPR U\]V[T a\ ab_[ aUR N_aV`a·` TNgR ONPX b]\[ Va`RYS 3\_ spring at the ICA , where Museum Trustee Joyce Alexander Wein, the Wein Prize honors the leg- aUV` P\[PR]abNY P\YYNO\_NaV\[ \S `\_a` dR UNcR N`XRQ ad\ N_aV`a` a\ P_R he will create the latest installment in acy of a woman whose life embodied a commitment to the possibilities NaR ]\_a_NVa` \S \[R N[\aUR_ the ICA’s Ramp Project series with and power of art and artists. a new wallpaper design. Hancock 3\_ aUR SV_`a V[`aNYYNaV\[ \S N[ \[T\V[T Y\\X Na P\[aRZ]\_N_f N_aV`a` will also display new drawings in Trenton Doyle Hancock (b. 1974) grew up in Paris, Texas, and lives and works in . =\_a_NVa \S N[ ._aV`a Of N[ ._aV`a dR aN]]RQ S\_ZR_ N_aV`a` V[ _R`VQR[PR the Project Space, which will be Houston. His sophisticated, innovative and layered artistic practice fuses the 8RUV[QR DVYRf  ²  N[Q :VPXNYR[R AU\ZN`   ²  9\[T sure to deliver his signature colorful recurring characters, dichotomies of good and evil and serialized narratives aVZR S_VR[Q` N[Q O\aU :3. T_NQbNaR` \S aUR FNYR @PU\\Y \S ._a DVYRf N[Q and witty critique of racial, sexual of graphic novels with large-scale paintings, drawings, installations and per- AU\ZN` `aNTRQ aUR S\YY\dV[T ]U\a\T_N]UVP ]\_a_NVa` V[ aURV_ \d[ `afYV`aVP and bodily issues that reflect formances. This hybridization provides Hancock with elastic boundaries and Z\QR` 2NPU N_aV`a aNXR` \[ QbNY Sb[PaV\[`³`bOWRPa N[Q N_aV`a³VYYb`a_Na both autobiographical and sociopo- allows him to draw from an eclectic range of influences and traditions. His work V[T aUR ZRaNaRebNYVaf N[Q QVcR_`Vaf \S P\[aRZ]\_N_f N_a 2NPU ]\_a_NVa V[ litical concerns.  evokes artists ranging from Hieronymus Bosch to Robert Crumb and cultural `\ZR dNf` ORY\[T` a\ O\aU N_aV`a` N[Q YbPXVYf NYY \S b` sources from the Bible to Star Wars.

Hancock received his BFA from Texas A&M University in 1997 and his MFA from the Tyler University School of Art in 2000. In 2002, he was a Core artist in residence at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Hancock’s work was featured in Freestyle (2001) at The Studio Museum in Harlem. He has been included in numerous group exhibitions world- wide, including the 2000 and 2002 Whitney Biennials, the 2003 Lyon and 43 Studio / Spring 2008

This Page/ Mickalene Thomas by Kehinde Wiley Facing Page/ Kehinde Wiley by Mickalene Thomas 45 Studio / Spring 2008 0\[aRZ]\_N_f ?Rc\YbaV\[N_f' 3Nb`aV[ 9V[fRXbYN by Thomas J. Lax, Curatorial Assistant Photo: Agathe Poupeney Agathe Photo: Teicher Gael Photo:

Congolese passport, as they rapidly outlawed Zairian ones. TL: I’ve heard you speak about some of your intellec- I was asked for a certificate of nationality. I had one from tual influences. I understand you often return to the before, but it said that I was Zairian and was rejected. I Polish avant-garde director and artist Tadeusz Kantor. asked myself, “Does the fact that the country has changed FL: One of the most beautiful things that I’ve read from names imply that my reality also has changed?” From him is called the “theater of death,” actually his last there I began all this questioning. When I say I’m a Congolese manifesto. It’s a summary of various thinkers’ work in the or a Zairian, what do I mean? What do I know about this twentieth century about theater and especially about the act of performing—being in front of people. He says that

: Agathe Poupeney Agathe Photo : place that I call “my country”? So it started with those questions and a desire to do something with this on stage. at some point the actors are just like us. They sit among All Images/ Faustin Linyekula us. And then there is a process where they move away Les Studios Kabako: Festival of Lies 2007 TL: What kind of research was involved when you from us. Then they cross the line and become strangers. Courtesy of MultiArts Projects and Productions began to think about these questions theatrically? Eventually they’ll come back, but maybe not. And when FL: It was almost a sociological thing really, because most I think about storytelling, which is one of the greatest of the work had been done for me already. I just looked models for constructing a theater piece or performance, around Kinshasa, talked to people and drew my own the storyteller is the one most capable of being really Somewhere between dance, theater, installation and TL: How did you conceive of Festival of Lies? conclusions as I followed my subjectivities. I went to bars here, of saying, “We’re here, in the same room, here and community event, the work of performer Faustin FL: It all began May 17, 1997. I woke up—I was living in Kenya and places where they have open-air soukous concerts now, you have this, you have that.” And then he or she Linyekula, whose Festival of Lies premiered in the then—and it was the morning ritual to turn on the radio to on Saturday nights in the city. I spent time there observing transforms and crosses the line, as Kantor would say, and United States this past fall, moves to the departed listen to the news. I heard from Radio France International how people relate to the main event, the concert, how becomes this ghost, this king, this warrior, this lion. Coming sounds of our postcolonial present. To the music of that my country, which I had known until that day as Zaire, they go out, how they circulate. I thought of it as equivalent back, taking you back there. He or she becomes a kind of a live soukous (Congolese pop music) band, three had changed names and was now Democratic Republic of to a night of storytelling during a funeral, where people guide through the story. dancers (Papy Ebotani, Djodjo Kazadi and Linyekula) the Congo. This man [Mobutu Sese Seko], who had been would spend a night singing, dancing, eating and drinking— and one actor (Marie-Louise Bibish Mumbu) interact there since I could understand who the head of a state is, but also wailing. TL: Your work can be considered as a number of with fluorescent lights, urban detritus and the was gone. From day one, when I went to school we were artistic forms. How do you identify yourself and audience itself as speeches of past leaders of the singing his songs—we would always chant “Mobutu forever.” TL: And how does the band come in? your practice? country now known as Democratic Republic of the Suddenly I hear on the radio that this man is gone. FL: The band has become a way of meeting people FL: I came to dance through this awareness that theater Congo also play, recalling the hopes and failures of wherever we go and creating a sense of community. is a relationship between one’s body and the audience’s national liberation. Through his skepticism about TL: Did you have any idea that moment was coming? Because when you’re on tour, you go there, unload, do your bodies. Am I dancer, am I a choreographer? Yes, I’ve the nation-form, colonization, imperial sovereignty FL: Around five or six years earlier, I started understanding stuff and then leave. You never really get to spend time with worked on my body since 1995 and learned the tools of and the proscenium, he brings the congruence of that Mobutu was not exactly the great man that we took a dancer and a choreographer. I can manipulate space these structures into sharp relief. Linyekula is the people. But by inviting people to play with me—certainly, it him for. Still, it was like a kid taught that his parents are the and try to reinvent ephemeral spaces. Enough time 2007 recipient of the prestigious Prince Claus Award, may be artificial and only last for a few days—I have this greatest—you can’t tell him otherwise. We, all those born in has passed that I can call myself a choreographer, even which he will use to move his studio, Les Studios feeling that I am not performing only for strangers. I have Kabako, to Kisangani in Congo’s Tshopo Province. the 70s, used to call him “Papa Mobutu, Papa Mobutu.” So locals with whom I’ve invented a temporary community, and though it would be too restrictive to limit my work only Studio Museum Curatorial Assistant Thomas J. all that was gone. I felt that my landmarks were taken out it becomes about that time I spend with these other artists. to that. But then again, everything can be dance. You can Lax speaks with Linyekula about his latest work, from under me. Where did I stand now? I went to the The audience comes in as witness to that. dance with your words, because you invent spaces influences and aesthetic aspirations. Congolese embassy a few weeks later because I needed a with your words.  47 Studio / Spring 2008 A_R[a\[ 1\fYR 5N[P\PX' Facing Page/ Hancock’s drawings, paintings, sculptures and discovers a way to convert dead Vegans into Trenton Doyle Hancock AUR /V_aU \S .[aNT\[V`aVP 1VSSR_R[PR Family Portrait (Mound installations are not, however, reducible to these food, thereby removing Vegan dependence Half and Ape Half) (detail) by Saya Woolfalk, Artist in Residence 2007–08 2003 political propositions; they are complex and on Moundmeat. St. Sesom also reintroduces Courtesy the artist and James Cohan Gallery, indulgently pleasurable pieces of art. Vegans to the knowledge that Mounds and New York Vegans are not-so-distant relatives. But St. Hancock’s world is populated by creatures Sesom and the Cult of Color have a hard called Mounds and Vegans, who are born into time closing the fissures between the two One thing is clear about the gender-ambiguous, non- Three suggestions underlie Hancock’s story: a hostile relationship. Their prehistory begins groups. Though technological and ideological racialized characters that inhabit Trenton Doyle 1. we are born into systems of difference, with an act that fractures a nuclear family and change can bring about new ways of being, Hancock’s universe: they know they are distinct from 2. our technology and ideology work in tandem to create brings antinomy to paradise. Homerbuctas, these shifts can be tenuous and need to be one another. Hancock’s work is a personal cosmology systems that reproduce themselves and a part-simian, part-human male, takes a bed of nurtured continuously. and visual/verbal fable that addresses the creation 3. ideological and technological transformations can flowers as his lover. When his partner Almacroyn of antagonistic difference—especially difference as change our relationships to difference. finds out, the children from Homerbuctas’s In Hancock’s world, antagonistic difference is not intertwined with consumption. relationship with Almacroyn, Cromalyna and a natural condition, but something produced Brouthescam, enact retribution on their half- through culture. Ape Humans (Vegans) are not siblings. In the ensuing “Great Mound Massacre,” the same as Flower Humans (Mounds) and they many of Homerbuctas and the flowers’ do not try to achieve sameness. It is not the children—the Mounds—are brutally slaughtered. differences between the groups that is inherently problematic. Their differences defined by For their violent act, the simian children are culture (history, technology and ideology) banished to the underworld, where they later preserve their antagonism and maintain their develop a culture called Veganism. One feels modes of consumption. sympathy for these part-humans. It is their father’s act of immoderation, not an inherent How does this relate to our world? drive or hatred, that produces their competitive Contemporary global relationships are, in part, relationship with their flower-sibling others. shaped by a history of extractive and con- Each subsequent generation of Mounds and sumptive technologies. Many ideologies of Vegans is born into this fractured world. difference have developed around our consumptive practices. In the United States, The geographic segregation of the Mounds and what are the foundational myths that support the Vegans accentuates their independent and obscure our system of antagonistic cultural and physical development. The differentiation? What versions of “The Code of corpulent Mounds remain in the land of their Less” do we use to justify unequal relationships? forefathers, in a state of abundance and pre- What innovative technologies and ideologies linguistic bliss, while the emaciated Vegans live can be developed to lead us to live better in underground and develop industry and a better world? Hancock’s work does not answer extractive technology that necessitates the these questions, but it is filled with the int- maintenance of difference from the Mounds. ellectual embers to begin these lines of inquiry. For Vegans to survive, Mounds must die; Vegans extract Moundmeat and convert it into food. I wish all investigations like this could begin Vegan ethics and ideology work in concert with with work as pleasurable as a piece of Trenton their technology. Their ethics, as represented by Doyle Hancock’s art.  “The Code of Less,” states, “thou shalt not kill anything but Mounds.”

Attempting to reinvent their system and bridge For more the gaps between Mounds and Vegans, a group information on of renegade Vegans, St. Sesom and his Cult of TrentonHancock, Doyle Color, create new technologies and ideologies. see page Bettow Watchow, a member of the Cult of Color, 74. 49 Studio / Spring 2008 ;N_V DN_Q =R_PR[a S\_ ._a Profile by Thomas J. Lax, Curatorial Assistant E.B. Lewis

by Liz Gwinn, Executive Assistant to the Director and the Chief Curator Photo: Michael J. Palma J. Michael Photo:

Inspired by local residents who frequently fish at the site, Ward’s Voice works reference the eyelet guides of a fishing rod. To create the sculpture, he welded stainless steel to give the impression of a reflective quilt. The three forms, which appear alongside one another in different postures, appeal to imaginative readings: depending on where one stands, they appear angelic, look like nautical disco balls or give the impression of an Egyptian ankh. Ward began his research by making weekly visits to the docks and taking walking tours with Manhattanville expert Eric K. Washington.4 Turn the page and add some In the process, he learned about their commercial and transportation history, from their precolonial importance color to the artist’s work! in the economic lives of Native Americans to the effects of mid-nineteenth-century industrialization in the exten- Earl Bradley (E.B.) Lewis is an award-winning artist and illus- Lewis’s work evokes the long tradition of African-American sion of the Hudson River Railroad. trator. He has illustrated dozens of popular children’s books, figurative painting, from Henry Ossawa Tanner’s The open-ended sculptures will be accompanied by a including Pitching in for Eubie by Jerdine Nolen (2007), (1859–1937) genre paintings and Archibald Motley’s series of text pieces made to resemble street signs. To Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman (1891–1981) portraits, to the popular realism of the create the signage that will be mounted on three-foot-tall by Nikki Grimes (2002), The Other Side by Jacqueline contemporary artists in the Studio Museum’s Black highway barriers and line the remodeled pathway, Ward Woodson (2001), The Bat Boy and His Violin by Gavin Curtis Romantic exhibition (2000). Knowledgeable and passion- distributed a survey to a group of community members. (1998) and Down the Road by Alice Schertle (1995). ate about art of all kinds, Lewis particularly admires He asked them to list words that evoked sounds of home the work of his contemporaries Tom Feelings (1933–2003), What is called for is the analysis of formal and (as they remember it), to which he added the names of A graduate of the Tyler School of Art at , best known for his esteemed, haunting book The Middle cultural limits (and not one or the other) within buildings and streets that once populated the area. Lewis originally intended to make his living as an artist and Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo (1995); Chris Van which art exists and struggles.1 —Daniel Buren According to the artist, the iridescent white-on-green por- teacher, but discovered illustration when an agent saw Allsburg, famous for writing and illustrating Jumanji (1981), celain enamel and stainless steel sculptures are meant to narrative potential in his figurative watercolor work. He is The Polar Express (1985) and Zathura (2002); and In his latest outdoor installation, artist Nari Ward constructs suggest a furtive and engaging take on the idea of land- best known for illustrating human-interest stories, and George Ford, the first illustrator to win the Coretta Scott three intensely welded polymorphic sculptures titled mark: they comment on the subjective nature of vision, cherishes his readers’ engagement with the characters King Book Award. He also loves the work of twentieth- Voice I, II and IV along the West Harlem Piers. Ward, a for- asking timely questions about shared experience, loss he depicts. Lewis has illustrated the stories of diverse chil- century illustrators Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell mer Studio Museum artist in residence (1992–93) and a and memory. For Ward, this set of projects is “an opportu- dren in situations ranging from the Negro League dugouts and N.C. Wyeth. longtime Harlem resident, is known for innovative use of nity for the general public to consider and appreciate an to 1960s Tanzania to contemporary suburbia; his light- materials in his sculptural environments that comment on accessible and poetic contemporary art experience—it’s filled, realistic watercolors instantly transport the reader Originally from Philadelphia, Lewis lives and works in New local and global sociopolitical conditions. Commissioned a moment for audiences of diverse experiences to come to a story’s time and place. Jersey. He teaches and lectures extensively, as he finds by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Percent together and contemplate their evolving environment.”  himself drawn to “the fresh ideas, energy and enthusiasm for Art program,2 this project is part of Mayor Bloomberg Lewis works exclusively in watercolor. He first used the of the classroom.” Lewis is a professor at The University 1. Daniel Buren, “Critical Limits” (1970), in Five Texts (New York: John Weber medium in high school, and refined his skills under Charles of the Arts in Philadelphia, and gives an average of sev- and Congressman Rangel’s $18.7 million development Gallery, 1974), 38. Schmidt. Years later, watercolor still fascinates him: “I like enty presentations a year to students and teachers in plan “to revitalize the area between 125th and 135th 2. More information on the program can be found online, at http://www.nyc. Streets” 3 and connect Harlem to Manhattan’s waterfront gov/html/dcla/html/panyc/projects.shtml. the distinct sound that it makes—for me it’s like an instru- elementary, middle and high schools. Lewis’s next work, 3. Press Release, “Mayor Bloomberg and Congressman Rangel Break ment, it has a voice.” illustrations for Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita greenway. Co-organized by the New York City Economic Ground on West Harlem Piers,” October 31, 2005, http://www.nycedc.com/ Development Corporation with the support of Community Web/PressRoom/PressReleases/WestHarlemPiers.htm. Smith, will be released this spring, and he is currently writing 4. Eric K. Washington is author of Manhattanville: Old Heart of West Harlem Board 9, the newly modeled piers will open in May 2008. (Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2002). a children’s book of his own. 51 Studio / Spring 2008

© E.B. Lewis The Other Side 2008 Created exclusively for The Studio Museum in Harlem 53 Studio / Spring 2008

?bOf `NVQ ´6 Y\cR f\bµ \SaR[ 1N[N N[Q 1RN[ X[Rd Va ZR[aV\[ \S a\d[ T\``V] @UR a_b`aRQ UR_ Ub`ON[Q·` a\ OR a_bR WbQTZR[a 5\dRcR_ aUR `dV[TV[T `\\[ `a\]]RQ AUR Wb[ .` 1N[N N[Q 1RN[ dR_R \[ aURV_ dNf a\ ZRRa aUR TYR TfZ dN`[·a `\ _RTbYN_Yf Re]Y\_RQ AUR YRNcR` \[ d\ZN[ dU\ d\bYQ P\[aV[bR a\ _NV`R aURZ aURV_ SN aUR a_RR` PUN[TRQ [\a S\_RcR_ RcR_T_RR[ AUR QNZ] aUR_ _RPRVcRQ aUR PNYY S_\Z aUR U\`]VaNY T_\b[Q ]_\cRQ a\\ N_aU_VaVP N[Q aUR _\YYV[T N_\b[Q ´bVaR PYRN_Yf S_\Z f\b_ Z\aUR_·` 55 Studio / Spring 2008

`VQR F\b_ SNaUR_ 4\Q URY] UVZ UN` NYdNf` ORR[ `\ZR 1N[N UNQ NYdNf` Y\cRQ URN_V[T UR_ SNaUR_ `]RNX ´6 Q\µ ´6[ UR_Rµ dUNa \S N _RORYµ 5V` ON_Va\[R ZNQR UR_ ZRYa 6a ZNQR UR_ SRRY `NSR /ba @UR RcR[ aU\bTUa \S aUR `P\YQ` dUVPU `RRZRQ ´

Larry Mantello / Welcome To / 2007 59 Studio / Spring 2008

5N_YRZ 2eaR_V\_` Of ._VP :NfR_ 1\\_`' ORNbaVSbY Zf`aR_V\b` S\_OVQQV[T V[cVaV[T _R]RYYV[T Zb[QN[R AURf `RPb_R aUR V[aR_V\_` \S ObVYQV[T` N[Q Q_R`` b] aURV_ ]bOYVP SNPR` AURf N_R aUR O_VQTR` ORadRR[ ]_VcNaR N[Q ]bOYVP <[ \[R `VQR V` aUR d\_YQ T\cR_[RQ Of YNd` N[Q `aN[QN_Q` dUVYR N SRd SRRa NdNf N cR_f QVSSR_R[a d\_YQ ReV`a` `bOWRPa a\ ]_VcNaR _bYR` N[Q Re]RPaNaV\[` 6[ ]bOYVP ]R\]YR dRN_ aUR ]R_`\[N` aURf dV`U a\ ]_R`R[a a\ \aUR_` AUR`R ´ZN`X`µ `]RNX a\ dU\ ]R\]YR N_R dU\ aURf dN[a a\ OR N[Q dU\ aURf ZVTUa OR VS TVcR[ N PUN[PR 6[ N `VZVYN_ dNf ]R\]YR Q_R`` b] ObVYQV[T` dVaU Q\\_`³aUR ]bOYVP SNPR` \S R[a_f aUR ]R_`\[N` aUNa V[a_\QbPR ObVYQV[T` N[[\b[PV[T dUNa ZVTUa OR V[`VQR N[Q dU\ ZVTUa OR dRYP\ZR AUR`R N_R 5N_YRZ Q\\_`  61 Studio / Spring 2008 63 Studio / Spring 2008

5N_YRZ 6[aR_V\_` Of 9R[N_Q @ZVaU :f SV_`a VZ]bY`R a\ ZNXR N `R_VR` \S V[aR_V\_ ]U\a\T_N]U` V[ 5N_YRZ PNZR S_\Z N QR[VNY\SNPPR`` a\ aUR .S_VPN[.ZR_VPN[ P\ZZb[Vaf dUVPU 6 UNQ ]_RcV\b`Yf NaaRZ]aRQ a\ ]U\a\T_N]U

6[ aUR`R ]U\a\T_N]U` 6 NaaRZ]a a\ ReNZV[R `VT[VSVPN[a QRaNVY` \S aUR V[`VQR ]\V[aV[T aUR YR[` a\dN_Q VQRN` \S VQR[aVaf N[Q P\ReV`aR[PR³N ´`RZV]_VcNaRµ `]NPR AUR S\YY\dV[T VZNTR` \S 5N_YRZ V[aR_V\_ `]NPR` _RcRNY a_NPR` \S aUR V[aVZNaR N[Q ]bOYVP YVcR` \S N P\ZZb[Vaf  65 Studio / Spring 2008 67 Studio / Spring 2008 3_\Z 5N_YRZ a\ 2aUV\]VN Of ?Nf 9YN[\`

5N_YRZ _R`VQR[a N[Q ]U\a\T_N]UR_ ?Nf 9YN[\` _RPR[aYf a_NcRYRQ dVaU AUR .Of``V[VN[ /N]aV`a 0Ub_PU \[ aURV_ `]V_VabNY ]VYT_VZNTR a\ 2aUV\]VN a\ P\ZZRZ\_NaR aURV_ OVPR[aR[[VNY PRYRO_NaV\[ .Of``V[VN[ ' A_bR a\

Gala 2007 Individuals Charles Guice Harold & Arti Freeman Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn & Samuel L. Gullory, MD Kathy & Richard S. Fuld Jr. Nicholas Rohatyn Patron Carole & Ira Hall Sunny & Brad Goldberg Daryl & Steven Roth Marieluise Hessel Artzt & Ed Artzt Homer Hasbrouck Agnes Gund & Daniel Shapiro Leslie A. Saint-Louis, MD Brickson E. Diamond Hallie S. Hobson James & Sezelle Haddon Pamela & Arthur Sanders David W. & Kathryn Moore Helen Hostin Lawrence Harris Janice Savin Heleniak Arthur J. Humphrey Jr. Alanna Heiss Elza R. Sharpe Loida Nicolas Lewis Peggy Jacobs Hess Foundation, Inc. Lehmann Maupin T. Warren Jackson Marilyn & Jim Simons The Studio Museum in Harlem would like to thank the Crystal McCrary Marie Christmas Rhone Fabian Marcaccio & Miyoung Lee Lowery Stokes Sims following businesses and individuals for their gener- Jonathan White/ Galia Solomonoff Lenox Terrace Development Jane Sinnenberg ous contributions to the success of Gala 2007, as well Siebert Brandford Shank & Yolanda & Meredith Marshall Association/ The Olnick Melissa & Robert Soros as our elegant and generous guests, who helped raise Co, LLC Bridget Moore/ DC Moore Gallery Organization Susan M. Sosnick over $1.8 million. Teri & Lloyd Trotter Brookie Maxwell Dorothy Lichtenstein Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel Oliver C. Mitchell Jr. & Douglas E. McIntosh The Honorable & Mrs. Earle I. Mack & Carl Spielvogel Tina R. Wynn Gregory R. Miller Lydia Mallett Marion B. Stroud Our deepest appreciation goes to the following compa- Harvey S. Shipley Miller Sherry & Joel Mallin Renee H. Sutton nies for their contributions to the phenomenal gift bags Supporter Lesia Bates Moss/ Fannie Mae Catie & Donald Marron David Teiger generously donated by Target and designed by Holly for Peg Alston Metropolitan Museum of Art Spencer David Means Alice & Tom Tisch Mr. & Mrs. Joel Motley Katherine & Joseph Mele Merryl Tisch Hollywood: Altoids, BET Networks, Cipriani, Doubleday, Nina Beattie & Michael Eberstadt Pippa Cohen Ruthard C. Murphy II Richard & Ronay Menschel Isabel & David Ushery Estée Lauder Companies and M.A.C Cosmetics, illy and Frank Ligtvoet & Nanne Dekking Madeline Murphy-Rabb Merrill Lynch & Co. Jeanette Sarkisian Wagner Town & Country. Jack Drake Mr. & Mrs. Brendon Riley Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe Ernestine Washington Blair M. Duncan Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Brooke & Daniel Neidich Ted & Nina Wells Scripps Networks Susan & Donald Newhouse Lyn & E. Thomas Williams Congratulations and thanks go to our dedicated Gala Ronald & Frayda Feldman Muna El Fituri Jack Shainman Susan & Leonard Nimoy Committee: Kathryn C. Chenault, Joyce Kuykendall Haupt Galerie Lelong John Silberman Amy & Joseph Perella and Carol Sutton Lewis. We salute this year’s honoree, Alvin D. Hall Marsha E. Simms Lisa Perry Nancy L. Lane. We also thank George Wein, who estab- Ginger McKnight-Chavers Laura Skoler William Pickens Suzanne Slesin & Mr. & Mrs. Antonio Reid lished the Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize, and congrat- & Kevin G. Chavers Karen A. Phillips Michael Steinberg Deborah A. Roberts  ulate the 2007 recipient, Trenton Doyle Hancock. Kim Powell Bonita & Kevin Stewart David Rockefeller Jose Tavarez & Holly Phillips, MD Dr. Robert E. Steele/ Don’t David C. Driskell Center miss out! Tables Lehman Brothers Donor Charles D. Storer Jr. & June Kelly Macy’s Inc. Dr. Debra Tanner Abell The Evelyn Sharp Foundation Sponsor Tracey Maitland/ Jacqueline Adams Derrick Thompson The Wachovia Foundation Advent Capital Management Susan & Ahmed Akkad Tiffany & Co. Second Annual Raymond J. McGuire Answorth A. Allen, MD & Angela Vallot & Jim Basker Llanos Ray Photo: Benefactor Rodney M. Miller Rae Wright-Allen, MD Ancy Verdier, DMV Spring Benefit Luncheon Kathryn C. & Kenneth Chenault/ Morgan Stanley Inner City Broadcasting Harlem Vintage Chandra Anderson Alan Wanzenberg American Express MTV Networks Katzenbach Partners/ Walker halley k. harrisburg & Felice Axelrod Dawanna Williams Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Gwen Adams Norton Merchant Group Michael Rosenfeld Monica Azare/ Verizon Deb Willis Carol Sutton Lewis & Bill Lewis Amelia & Adebayo Ogunlesi Reginald Van Lee/ HBO Corey M. Baylor & The 2008 Spring Benefit Luncheon is almost upon Ann Tenenbaum & Thomas H. Lee Pepsi Cola North America Booz Allen Hamilton L’Oreal USA Racquel Chevremont Baylor Contributor Target Corporation Utendahl Capital Partners Moody’s Corporation Jemina R. Bernard Pierce Allen us—have you purchased your tickets yet? Join us Patron Time Warner, Inc. Pfizer, Inc Lisa Bonner, Esq. Ann & Steven Ames on April 17, 2008, for this fantastic event! Gayle Perkins Atkins & Verizon Donor Charles Shorter & Judith K. Brodsky Anonymous George Wein Albion, London Suzanne Randolph Valerie S. Brown Ariel Capital Management, LLC Susan Fales-Hill The Studio Museum in Harlem will hold the second an- Bloomberg American Express James H. Simmons III/ Laurence Carty & Paola Antonelli Patricia Blanchet Darden Restaurants, Inc. Supporter Melva Bucksbaum/ Apollo Real Estate Advisers Wendy R. Credle, Esq. Deborah & Willard Brittain nual Spring Benefit Luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental Peggy Cooper Davis & Altria Group, Inc. Raymond Learsy The College of New Rochelle Leslie D. Danley, MD Mr. & Mrs. George H. Butcher III Hotel in New York. This fantastic event will celebrate the Anne B. Cammack Gordon J. Davis/LeBoeuf, Lamb, Douglas Baxter/ Pace Wildenstein Amy Cappellazzo/ Christie’s John T. Thompson/ Thompson Ria A. Davis, Esq. Museum’s commitment to education and creativity. Greene & MacRae Charles J. Hamilton Jr. & James Cohan Gallery & Dunn Distribution Company, Inc. Deitch Projects Laurence Carty & Paola Antonelli Reginald E. Davis Pamela Carlton Hamilton/ Paul, and Brown Contemporary UBS Willie Dennis & Caryn Bailey Carver Federal Savings Bank Anne & Joel Ehrenkranz Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP Con-Edison Windels Mark Lane & Marquita Pool-Eckert & Columbia University For more information or details on sponsorship/ The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. Joyce & Ira Haupt II Draft Wittendorf, LLP Knut Eckert Beth Rudin DeWoody/May and underwriting, please contact the Membership Office Samuel Rudin Family General Electric Company HIP Health Plan of New York Louis M. Dubin/ Xerox Ronald & Frayda Feldman at 212.864.4500 x244. Dr. Lisa Grain & David J. Grain Von M. Hughes/ Pacific The Athena Group, LLC Rita & Waldo Falkener Foundation, Inc. The Niki and Joe Gregory Alternative Asset Management Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz LaRue & Doreen Gibson Maurice & Andrea DuBois Charitable Foundation Company Goldman, Sachs & Co. Gladstone Gallery Constance C. Ellis Debra Lee/ BET Networks ING David Alan Grier Susan L. & Arthur Fleischer 71 Studio / Spring 2008 Development News Photos/ Ray Llanos Gala 2007 73 Studio / Spring 2008 Museum Store Of all the wonderful things available in the Museum Store, we might be proudest of our exhibition catalogues. At once STORE HOURS daring, learned and fun, they represent all that we at the Museum work so hard to bring you—amazing art by artists Wednesday-Friday, 12–6 pm of African descent, insightful commentary by curators and scholars and detailed information about the artists, their Saturday, 10–6 pm, Sunday, 12–6 pm backgrounds and their work. Please enjoy one or more of our catalogues, each one packed with beautiful full-color Museum Store is closed Monday, Tuesday and major holidays reproductions, to help you remember or interpret your favorite Studio Museum exhibitions.

NEW!

Flow Frequency : Afro Muses 1995–2005 Item# 1087 Price $30.00 Member $25.00 Item# 334 Price $30.00 Member $25.50 Africa Comics Item# 4175 Price $49.95 Member $42.45 Item# 995 Price $44.95 Member $38.20 Flow is a survey of new work by emerging African artists. Third in a Frequency, an exhibition of thirty-five emerging artists from across the series of emerging artist exhibitions presented by the Studio Museum, United States ranging in age from twenty-five to forty-six, represents the Chris Ofili: Afro Muses 1995–2005 is a rare solo U.S. museum exhibition Africa Comics is the first major publication on the subject in English, along with Freestyle (2001) and Frequency (2005), Flow illustrates the current creative movement among contemporary black artists. The fully of more than 175 iconic watercolors created by the artist over the last and stands as an authoritative resource. The approximately 200-page individuality and complexity of twenty-first-century contemporary illustrated 120-page catalogue features full-color reproductions of all decade. The 184-page full-color catalogue features reproductions of catalogue includes essays by Africa e Mediterraneo, Mary Angela Schroth, art, this time from creators around the world. The full-color catalogue work included in the exhibition, and essays by Thelma Golden, Franklin work in the exhibition; essays by Thelma Golden, Hilton Als and Beth Massimo Repetti, Sandra Federici, Okwui Enwezor, Calvin Reid and Valerie features reproductions of work in the exhibition, essays on each of the Sirmans, Malik Gaines, Dominic Molon, Sarah Lewis and Aimee Chang. The Coleman; a checklist of works; and an artist biography. Cassel Oliver. It also includes full-color reproductions of all work included twenty artists by contemporary historians, critics and writers, including catalogue also includes a checklist of works and artists’ biographies. Virginie Andriamirado, Rory Bester, Elizabeth Harney, Sarah Kent, Mariam in the exhibition with English translations, a complete checklist of works Sharp and Kristina Van Dyke. The catalogue also includes several in-depth and artists’ biographies. essays to provide context and offer analyses of African politics, global image-making and the contemporary international art world these transnational artists inhabit. Writers of these essays include Segun Afolabi, N’goné Fall, Salah Hassan and Achille Mbembe.

Harlemworld: Metropolis as Metaphor Kori Newkirk 1997–2007 Energy/Experimentation: Black Artists Item# 3423 Price $39.95 Member $ 33.95 Item# 4488 Price $35.00 Member $29.75 and Abstraction, 1964–1980 Item# 999 Price $44.95 Member $38.20 Harlemworld: Metropolis as Metaphor features works by eighteen Kori Newkirk 1997–2007, the first major retrospective of Newkirk’s work, emerging architects that explore the ways that Harlem exists in presents the diversity of his media, subjects and themes, all of which share his Focusing on a core group who dedicated themselves to experimentation our imaginations as a site for cultural, territorial, psychological and unique perspective on identity and African-American cultural politics. The with structure and materials, Energy/Experimentation: Black Artists and architectural ideas. The 100-page, fully illustrated catalogue includes Freestyle approximately 130-page catalogue is the first major publication devoted to Abstraction, 1964–1980 presents a range of hybrid objects, paintings reproductions of works in the exhibition; a roundtable conversation; Item# 374 Price $30.00 Member $25.50 Newkirk’s work. It includes essays by Huey Copeland, Dominic Molon, Deborah and sculptures formed from the unique, subjective visual languages of essays by Thelma Golden, Greg Tate, Cheryl Finley, Mable O. Wilson, Willis and Thelma Golden; full-color reproductions of work included in the abstraction. The approximately 150-page full-color catalogue includes Susan Cahan, Latasha Natasha Diggs, Christine Y. Kim, Lowery Stokes Freestyle, a title inspired by the popular musical form, presents twenty- exhibition; a complete checklist of works; and an artist biography. reproductions of all work included in the exhibition; essays by Kellie Jones, Sims and Vijay Prashad; a checklist of works; and artists’ biographies. eight young black artists who explore a range of issues through various Lowery Stokes Sims, Guthrie Ramsey and Courtney J. Martin; a complete media including painting, sculpture, photography, video and digital checklist of works; and artists’ biographies. technology. The 90-page full-color catalogue features color and black- and-white reproductions of works from the exhibition, essays by various authors including Thelma Golden and Hamza Walker, a checklist of works and artists’ biographies. Philosophy of Time Travel: Edgar Arceneaux, Vincent Galen Johnson, Olga Koumoundouros, Rodney McMillian and Matthew Sloly Black Belt Item# 836 Price $30.00 Member $25.50 Item# 4144 Price $25.00 Member $21.25

What if history had a mind of its own, moving from the past, through the Meschac Gaba: Tresses Item# 4027 Price $25.00 Member $21.25 Black Belt, a large-scale exhibition featuring nineteen contemporary present and into the future? A team of five artists, Edgar Arceneaux, Vincent artists, reflects on the intersection between African-American and Galen Johnson, Olga Koumoundouros, Rodney McMillian and Matthew Asian-American cultures from the 1970s and 80s. The 100-page, fully Meschac Gaba: Tresses is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the United States. Sloly, explore this idea in Philosophy of Time Travel, a fictional world in which illustrated catalogue includes reproductions of work in the exhibition, It explores connections between global iconography, the power of capital history comes to life, crashes through the exhibition space and traverses a roundtable conversation; essays by Lowery Stokes Sims, Latasha and cultural significance. The fully illustrated 95-page catalogue in English and the histories of art and museums. The approximately 112-page full-color Natasha Diggs, Christine Y. Kim and Vijay Prashad; a checklist of works; French features full-color reproductions of work included in the exhibition; catalogue includes reproductions of work included in the exhibition and and artists’ biographies. essays by Lowery Stokes Sims, Hilton Als and Christine Y. Kim. essays by Lowery Stokes Sims, Christine Y. Kim and Lauri Firstenberg; a

checklist of works; and an artist biography.

Museum Store Yes! I want to be a member of Join us The Studio Museum in Harlem.

online! 1 year renewal gift The Membership Department is delighted to let NAME OF MEMBERSHIP HOLDER you know that The Studio Museum in Harlem’s

website now includes the ability to join the NAME OF ADDITIONAL MEMBER (FAMILY/PARTNER LEVEL MEMBERS AND ABOVE) Museum or renew your membership with a credit card online. Using your American Express, ADDRESS

MasterCard or Visa, you can now safely and CITY STATE ZIP quickly join and be entitled to a host of member- ship benefits—including free admission, Museum WORK PHONE HOME PHONE

Challenge of The Modern: Store discounts and more—while lending critical EMAIL ADDRESS African American Artist 1925–1945 support to the Museum and its programs. Visit Item# 2760 Price $25.00 Member $21.25 our membership page at www.studiomuseum. Please do not make my name, address and other information available to third-party providers. Challenge of the Modern: African-American Artists 1925–1945 is an org/membership and see just how easy it is. examination of the modernist concepts engaged by black artists in the United States and the Caribbean. The approximately 130-page catalogue includes full-color reproductions of work from the exhibition, an essay Special Membership Groups from Lowery Stokes Sims and a checklist of works. Director’s Circle $2,500 Curator’s Circle $1,500 Group Tours at the Contemporary Friends Studio Museum Couple $300 Individual $200

Get the most out of your visit to The Studio General Membership Groups Museum in Harlem through our exciting interac- Benefactor $1,000 Family/Partner $75 Gary Simmons tive group tours! We welcome groups to experi- Donor $500 Individual $50 Item# 1618 Price $25.00 Member $21.25 ence the exhibitions and Harlem’s rich architec- Associate $250 Student $20 tural landscape. To schedule a tour, please call Supporter $100 Senior $20 Gary Simmons, a survey of the artist’s work, features drawings, photographs, 212.864.4500 x230. sculptures and videos from the seven years preceding the exhibition. From initially addressing identity, Simmons’s work has increasingly encompassed Payment Method a wide range of cultural meanings, often inspired by objects and images I have enclosed my check from the American vernacular landscape. The 80-page, fully illustrated (make check payable to The Studio Museum in Harlem) catalogue is the first monograph on the artist’s work. It features essays by Please bill my: Thelma Golden and Maurice Berger, as well as an interview with Franklin American Express MasterCard Visa Sirmans and Gary Simmons, full-color reproductions of works from the exhibition, a checklist of works and an artist biography.

NAME OF CARDHOLDER

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP Black Romantic Item# 2111 Price $25.00 Member $21.25 WORK PHONE HOME PHONE Photo: Ronny Quevedo Black Romantic presents critical and poetic perspectives of thirty artists CARD NUMBER EXP. DATE from the United States whose figurative work represent elements of desire, dreams, determination and romance. The approximately 130-page full-color SIGNATURE catalogue features essays by Lowery Stokes Sims, Thelma Golden, Valerie Cassel, Kelefa Sannah, Franklin Sirmans, LeRonn Brooks, Regina L. Woods, Did you know you can join online at Malik Gaines and Christine Y. Kim. It also includes full-color reproductions of www.studiomuseum.org/membership work from the exhibition, a checklist of works and artists’ biographies.

Thank you for your support and welcome to The Studio Museum in Harlem! The Studio Museum in Harlem offers the best way to explore black culture and the latest trends in contemporary art! From the Director SMH Board of Group Special Visitor MuseumTrustees Hours were unexpectedly able to present Wednesday–Friday, 12–6 pm Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series: Membership Membership SelectionsInformation from The Phillips Collec- Saturday,Chairman 10 am–6 pm tion. The Whitney team’s hard work Sunday,Raymond 12–6 J. pm McGuire Individual $50 Groups and flexibilityAddress enabled thousands of The MuseumVice-Chair is closed on Monday, (Fully tax-deductible) visitors to see the exhibition in their TuesdayCarol and Sutton major holidays.Lewis

144 W. 125th St. artist the Courtesy / 2006 ’ 4`SSOR[WaaW]\T]`]\S ;S[PS`a]TbVS2W`SQb]`¾a1W`QZSO\RGilman Gallery from November 21, ’ #RWaQ]c\b]\OZZ[caSc[ab]`S Treasurer Curator’s Circle are the highest level2007, of toNew January York, 6, NY2008. 10027 I deeply purchases. Reginald Van Lee individual membership and the startingregret not(between being able Malcolm to present X andthe Store Hours ’ ;S[PS`a]\ZgRWaQ]c\baV]^^W\U Secretary / (detail) point for people with increased interestexhibition at the Studio Museum, but Wednesday- Friday, 12 — 6pm days. Adam C. Powell Jr. Anne B. Ehrenkranz ’ ;S[PS`aRWaQ]c\b]\aSZSQbSRcQO- in access to artists and the art world.am trulyboulevards) grateful to everyone at the Saturday, 10 — 6pm tion and public programs. These exclusive membership groupsWhitney for allowing these works to Sunday, 12 — 6pm ’ 7\dWbObW]\ab]]^S\W\U`SQS^bW]\]T have been instrumental in contributingbe seen in New York. Gayle Perkins Atkins exhibitions. to the success of SMH and provide vital General Info MuseumJacqueline store is closed L. Bradley Monday, Tuesday and Major Holidays ’ `]XSQb

The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine/ Spring 2008