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THE SUPPER CLUB THE SUPPER CLUB What does it mean to have a seat at the table? Antonio Cruz, Mickalene Thomas, Lina Puerta, extension of her everyday life. A precedent Ask artist Elia Alba, and her many guests— LaToya Ruby Frazier, and Las Hermanas to Alba’s project is Carrie Mae Weems’ The artists and otherwise—who have attended Iglesias, among others. As Alba continued Kitchen Table Series (1990), begun in 1989 with the twenty-fiveSupper Club dinners over to approach other artists to sit for subsequent self-portraits representing women seated at the past five years, and that question will be portraits, she decided that hosting dinners the table, accompanied by text that intimately met with many different answers. Although was a way to give voice to those featured revealed their relationships and daily lives.1 Of the first meals took place in restaurants, in in the photographs. And so, a journey of the series, art historian Robin Kelsey writes: recent years the level of production for each dinners, discussions, and the staging of gathering has been formalized. For each portraits has evolved into a complex network “Kitchens and streets. You could write a dinner, Alba plans the menu and identifies a of relationships. Each dinner has hinged on history of the twentieth century through host—an artist, intellectual, or art historian specific conversations, concentrating on a that pairing. If the city street is a place with a keen understanding of current cultural range of themes, bringing new participants of random encounter, of hustle and protest, politics—who provides a prompt thematically to the table on subjects like Identity, Race, the kitchen is a place of intimate habit, framing the dinner conversation, to provoke and Baltimore, a Tribute to Freddie Gray; of sharing and aroma…The street presses a discussion about race and visual culture. Finding Sanctuary After Orlando; Queer into the kitchen, stocking shelves and One of the most complex aspects of planning Intersectionality; What Would an HIV Doula burdening conversations. The kitchen is each dinner is finalizing the guest list. For the Do?; and The Prospect of Race Relations a delicate sanctuary, vulnerable to the last three years, in addition to organizing the Post Obama, to name but a few. To date, all threat of violence, and to the prejudice dinners, Alba has also personally cooked the of the thematic conversations have been and fear that abound outside.”2 meal in preparation for her guests’ arrival. recorded as part of a larger effort to produce a book about The Supper Club, which will One of the recurrent threads of discourse A seat at the table means more than just feature the portraits alongside excerpts of linking many of the gatherings at The 8th Floor simply being a dinner guest. Alba initiated these dialogues. is the notion of privilege. The privilege of being The Supper Club as a photography project, by invited to sit at the table, to be part of an oral staging portraits of her friends—artists of In developing this layered project, Alba is not history and growing archive of conversations color—as a means to explore and celebrate concerned with following the logic of socially that have responded to both historical the diversity of cultural and artistic identity, engaged art, perhaps because her practice is questions, such as the history of race in Latin specifically as it relates to race. Her interest rooted in photography and sculpture, informed America and immigration to the United States, was sparked by the media’s lack of diversity, by her early experiences in the fashion world. and contemporary issues related to gender which is writ large in the annual Hollywood Alba’s process reflects an understanding of politics and race. Issue of Vanity Fair magazine and the Academy how seamlessly art can overlap with life, and Awards, both glaring examples of the media how social relations inform the production of It is important to acknowledge the people overlooking the accomplishments of people of visual culture. Having hosted informal dinners involved in the dinners—the hosts, the color. Alba’s first portraits, which took place for artist friends for nearly two decades, guest-participants, those who work closely in the summer of 2012, included artists David the dinners within The Supper Club are an with Alba to produce each event and meal— and to recognize the political nature of the through the suggestions and ideas for dinner is this a table of artists of color, or are invitation. When The Supper Club began in themes, understanding the importance of we just a bunch of artists? Is that a hat 2012, Alba, with the support of Recess Art, including artists she did not know personally that we take off and put on when it’s hosted the first three dinners at restaurants in in the portraits, as opposed to solely those convenient? Like, what’s up?”3 Brooklyn: Tripoli, Kaz an Nou, and Joloff, with who were an active part of her community fifty artists in total. With the participation of at the moment of the project’s inception. As the conversation unfolded, ideas arose many influential figures—Maren Hassinger, This process of listening meant that when about the expectations of art viewers and Coco Fusco, Clifford Owens, Lorraine O’Grady, Clifford Owens suggested having a black consumers. Specifically, how did this group Sanford Biggers, among them—an awareness male dinner, the politics of further limiting of artists consider their own racial identity of the project began to expand in terms of participants—from artists of color to men in connection with the expectations placed art world recognition. A partial listing is not only—were given serious consideration. In on artists of color? Other topics covered how sufficient, as it is all of the artists who sat for the end, Derrick Adams and Owens, both artists at the table perceived the difference portraits, combined with nearly five-hundred featured in the portrait series, agreed to host between identifying as a ‘black artist’ and dinner guests, that make the project whole. the dinner together. Organizing the Black Male ‘artist of color,’ ultimately questioning what it Alongside the excitement of being invited is a Subjectivity dinner opened up the idea of not means to identify with a community, of color palpable tension around omissions. Why was one, but two dinners based on Black Female or otherwise. a certain artist not included? Why did another Subjectivity, the first hosted by art historian 2. The Monk (Nicolás Dumit Estévez), 2013. Photographed in Inwood invited artist not show up? Dr. Brandi Summers and the second by artist 2012 marked a significant shift—one that Hill Forest Park, NY. Simone Leigh. seemed to register more vividly outside That the privilege of being at the table has of the black community—when police violence come up repeatedly as a point of discussion Going back to the very first dinners in the fall against African Americans and people of color over the last three years makes it clear that of 2012, Alba and Allison Freedman Weisberg, was thrust into the national spotlight, following there is a sense of responsibility in accepting Executive Director and Founder of Recess Art, the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George the invitation to participate. The dinners kicked off the conversation by introducing the Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. In the years are recorded, and what is said is likely to guests to “Chuleta,” the host of the dinner, that followed, these police shootings (or be included in the forthcoming book. Alba’s performed by artist Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz. in Martin’s case, shooting by a neighborhood hospitality, dedication to preparing the meal, The dinner officially began after Chuleta watchman) were more frequently covered in and welcoming presence, have a profound remarked: the media. The deaths of Michael Brown in effect on everyone at the table. Participants Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten react in a variety of ways, some are more “…I’m less interested in the art world per se, Island, New York, had increased visibility 1. The Spiritualist (Maren Hassinger), 2013. Photographed in Inwood Hill Forest Park, NY. 3. The Oracle (Heather Hart), 2012. Photographed at The Sand vocal, while for others, the experience is more and I’m more interested in how the art outside the black community in part because Dunes of Provincetown, MA. subdued, reflective, or just about listening. world works, and what the art world has of technology, social media, and the ease to say about us, and what we say in with which bystanders could now record Alba’s openness and capacity for listening return,” she ventured. “…how do you these grim encounters between citizens and is integral to the project’s evolution: sorting identify yourself? Who are you? Are we— law enforcement. The Black Lives Matter movement coalesced and has informed waves in skin tones that suggest a multitude of races, representing fixed identities. In 2008, she of activism related to resistance against the but are drawn solely from Alba’s own body. continued with mask-making, producing policies espoused by the Trump presidency. As Estévez tries on each suit, he gestures photographs of fantastic, multi-racial as if to ask, what if I were individuals. Through the use of wigs, makeup, Although The Supper Club began with questions a… something or and photographic masks that distort the about what it means to be an artist of color, and someone wearer’s age, their personae incorporated was not initially focused on events like Martin signifiers of multiple ethnicities, and and Brown’s deaths, it is no coincidence that, in transferred gender from male to recent years, Alba grew more vocal about race female, and somewhere in in her practice.

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