The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine / Summer 2005

The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine / Summer 2005
From the Director
SMH Board of
Trustees
which is a big, sprawling, somewhat inconclusive survey of recent
African art. I say inconclusive because we often expect exhibitions
to start and finish an idea. But
often the best exhibitions are those
that are open-ended and allow for
Many of you are used to hearing
many interpretations, those that
from me as a curator for the Studio extend possibilities for different
Museum. I’m thrilled to address
resolutions to an idea and provide
you for the first time in my new
us with a deeper understanding
role as Director and Chief Curator. of that idea. I say this as we introThis summer, I’m pleased to
duce hrlm, a new series of projbegin my tenure with Scratch,
ects and exhibitions that begin our
ongoing investigation into Harlem:
where we’re at! Also on view is our
annual Expanding the Walls student
exhibition, Reclaiming Beautiful.
I’d also like to take this opportunity
to personally thank Lowery Stokes
Sims, our new President, for
creating this exciting environment
and for her enormous contributions over the past five years.
During her tenure as Director, the
Museum grew and blossomed,
and I was able to create some of
the most exciting shows of my
career. Although her title and role
are changing, you will surely see
her imprint around this museum
for many years to come.
And don’t worry, I will continue
to offer you my completely biased,
entirely opinionated hot picks in
Elsewhere (pg. 12). This fall, look
forward to Frequency, a reprise
of our groundbreaking 2001
exhibition Freestyle.
the 2004-05 Artists-in-Residence
exhibition. The residency program
is so central to the Museum’s
mission and holds such an important place in it’s history. And in
the legacy of our support for artists
of African descent, we enthusiastically present the beautifully
accomplished work of William
Cordova, Michael Queenland
and Marc André Robinson.
The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine / Summer 2005
what’s up hrlm: pictures / Scratch / Reclaiming Beautiful / Harlem Postcards 10 / upcoming exhibitions Frequency / Energy/Experimentation: Black
Artists and Abstraction, 1964 – 1980 12 / elsewhere Glenn Ligon / Fred Wilson
/ Jamel Shabazz / Meschac Gaba / Purvis Young / Julie Merethu / Shinique
Smith 16 / feature Franco the Great’s Harlem Gates / Aesthetics and Social
Justice 26 / overheard 27 / artist commission Annette Lawrence 30 / profile
Murphy Heyliger 32 / checkout 33 / collecting 34 / 3 questions Stan Douglas 36 /
studio visit 37 / profile Javaka Steptoe 38 / coloring page 40 / education 41 / public
programs 44 / harlem: where we’re at 49 / museum store 50 / spring benefit
02 /
Studio
Studio is published three times
a year by The Studio Museum
in Harlem, 144 West 125th St.,
New York, NY 10027. Copyright © 2005 Studio Magazine.
All material is compiled from
sources believed to be reliable,
but published without responsibility for errors or omissions.
Studio assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or
photographs. All rights, including translation into other languages, reserved by the publisher. Nothing in this publication
may be reproduced without the
permission of the publisher.
Please email comments to
pr@studiomuseum.org.
N A T I O N A L
ENDOWMENT
F O R T HE A RT S
Thelma’s photo: Timothy
Greenfield-Sanders
Cover image: Chato Hill / Harlem Week,
Father and Son / 2005
Johnathan Calm Scratching Chance #1 (diptych) / 2005 / Collection of Kai Loebach, Los Angeles
Vintage gelatin silver print
Courtesy Donna Mussenden VanDerZee
The Scherman Foundation, Inc., Goldman,
Sachs & Co., Credit Suisse First Boston, The
New York Times Company Foundation, American
Express Company, Altria Group Inc., Pfi zer, Inc.,
The Norman and Rosita Winston Foundation,
Inc., The Cowles Charitable Trust, The Moody’s
Foundation, Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse
Foundation, Lord & Taylor, and The Young &
Rubicam Foundation.
Ali Evans
Editor-in-chief
Samir S. Patel
Copy editor
Kristia Moises
Editorial assistant
Design
2x4, New York
Printing
Cosmos
Communications, Inc.
Tap Dance Team, 1931
These young artists, with the
vibrancy and maturity of practitioners twice their age, take on the big
issue of beauty and its role in their
lives and the world around them.
See you around, and definitely
uptown...
I want to thank all of the supporters
of our Artists-in-Residence and
Expanding the Walls programs:
Nimoy Foundation; The Peter
Jay Sharp Foundation; Elaine
Dannheisser Foundation; National
Endowment for the Arts; New York
State Council on the Arts, a state
agency; The Greenwall Foundation; Helena Rubinstein Foundation; Jerome Foundation; Dedalus
This past spring, I went to Paris
Foundation; and two anonymous
for the opening of Africa Remix:
donors in honor of Rev. Frederick
Contemporary Art of a Continent, & Mrs. Eikerenkoetter.
Operation of the Studio Museum in Harlem is
supported with public funds provided by The New
York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the
New York State Council on the Arts, a state
agency; and the New York State Offi ce of Parks,
Recreation & Historic Preservation through the
offi ce of Sen. David A. Paterson. Major funding is
also provided by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation
and The Carnegie Corporation of New York, with
additional support from The Horace W. Goldsmith
Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, LEF Foundation,
Raymond J. McGuire
Chairman
Carol Sutton Lewis
Vice-Chair
Reginald Van Lee
Treasurer
Gayle Perkins Atkins
Kathryn C. Chenault
Paula R. Collins
Gordon J. Davis
Anne B. Ehrenkranz
Susan Fales-Hill
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Sandra Grymes
Joyce Haupt
Arthur J. Humphrey,Jr.
George L. Knox
Nancy L. Lane
Dr. Michael L. Lomax
Tracy Maitland
Rodney M. Miller
Eileen Harris Norton
Corine Pettey
David A. Ross
Charles A. Shorter, Jr.
Ann Tenenbaum
John T. Thompson
Joyce A. Wein
Michael Winston
Karen A. Phillips
ex-officio
Hon. Kate D. Levin
ex-officio
02 /
what’s up
Studio / Summer 05
hrlm: pictures
July 20—October 23,
2005
03 /
Studio / Summer 05
hrlm: pictures, the first exhibition in a new series of Harlem-specific, site-responsive projects, investigates and witnesses the depth and breadth of this community through the work
of 31 artists. This exhibition presents Harlem through iconic images by seminal photographers of the 20th century, photographs by local and national artists and selections from the
Museum’s permanent collection.
Photography has always been and remains a complex agent in understanding Harlem. From James VanDerZee and
Aaron Siskind’s images of Harlem in the 1930s, to direct and unflinching photographs of Harlemites in 1960s and
1970s by Dawoud Bey, Jules Allen and Gordon Parks, this exhibition visualizes the incredible nostalgia for Harlem’s
glorious past. On the other hand, contemporary works such as Karen Davis’ images of young children playing in the
pool and Christine Camilo’s portrait of a Boricua teenager in Spanish Harlem, capture the essence and energy of
Harlem from east to west, north to south.
Artists in the exhibition include: Jules Allen, Donald Andrew Agarrat, Alice Attie, damali ayo & Randal Wilcox, Dawoud
Bey, Terry Boddie, Jonathan Calm, Christine Camilo, Karen Davis, h. eugene foster, Adler Guerrier, Mikki K. Harris,
Eric Henderson, Leslie Hewitt, Brooke Jacobs, Robert W. Johnson, Ray Llanos, Melinda Lewis, Dave McKenzie,
Gordon Parks, Carlos Perez, Katherin Schmidiger, Aaron Siskind, Greg Tate, Hunter Tura & Jeannie Kim, Constance
Williams, James VanDerZee, Albert Vecerka and Camilo José Vergara.
hrlm: pictures was organized by the Studio Museum’s Curatorial Team: Rashida Bumbray, Ali Evans and Christine Y. Kim, and furthers the Studio Museum’s critical role as a living,
breathing archive and visual record of this viable, vibrant community. The hrlm word mark was conceived and generously donated by 2x4, New York.
01
06
03
04
02
05
01 / Carlos Perez
Morningside Park
2004
04 / Donald Andrew Arragat
Sierra Leone on Lenox Avenue
2003
07 / Albert Vecerka
Harlem Brownstones
2000
02 / Melinda Lewis
Sunday Best
2003
05 / Donald Andrew Arragat
Biker Gyrlz
2003
08 / Robert W. Johnson
Uptown Fruit
2005
03 / Karen Davis
Wait for the Whistle
2003
06 / Terry Boddie
Confluence
2005
All images, collection
of the artist
07
08
04 /
what’s up
Scratch July 20—
October 23, 2005
05 /
A verb, a noun, an idiom or slang, scratch is multiple parts of speech and a set of divergent
homographs. Similarly, the works of William Cordova, Michael Queenland and Marc André
Robinson reference mark-making, chance, cancellation, currency, sound and rupture. Buried beneath recognizable images and found objects are a variety of meanings and discourses. Each fingerprint or artistic impression marks a transference: some visible and
others a trace of things left behind or yet to come.
Organized by Associate Curator Christine Y. Kim, this annual summer exhibition features works by three emerging artists who have been awarded year-long studios and stipends at the Studio Museum. The Artist-in-Residence program
represents one of the founding initiatives of the Museum. Past residents include Chakaia Booker, Leonardo Drew,
David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, Nari Ward and Kehinde Wiley.
The Artist-in-Residence program and exhibition are made possible, in part, by New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; Nimoy Foundation; Helena Rubenstein Foundation;
Jerome Foundation; Elaine Dannheisser Foundation; and Dedalus Foundation.
01 / Michael Queenland
Shaker Smallcraft: Brother’s Hanger and
Scouring Box (detail)
2005
02 / William Cordova
World Famo Paintings (detail)
2005
03 / Marc André Robinson
Throne for the Greatest
Rapper of All Time (Studio View)
2005
01
02
03
06 /
Studio / Summer 05
Studio Museum
Artists-in-Residence
2004—2005
William Cordova
produces a B-flat 57 octaves below middle
C, a tone far lower than the human ear can
discern. Fortunately, I have a radio I bought
from a thrift shop on Lenox Avenue. Its
cheap antenna can pick up black hole frequencies and transmissions—this is usually
what’s on in the studio.
Martin Chambi
What is the most interesting exhibition
you’ve seen recently:
“Motion” by Wayne Hodge at Santa Fe Art
Institute
Finish the sentence: Black is …
profoundly asbtract, concretely subversive
and as Rammellze would phrase it … it’s
“gothic futurism.”
Photos: Ray Llanos
03 / Michael Queenland
Untitled (Black Balloon Rock)
2005
01
Born 1970, Pasadena, Calif. / Lives and
works in New York, N.Y. / Education: 2002
MFA, University of California, Los Angeles
/ 1998 BA, University of California, Los
Angeles
One word to describe your work?
oil·y Pronunciation Key \oi-lè\
adj. oil·i·er, oil·i·est
1. Of or relating to oil.
2. Impregnated, smeared with, or containing oil; greasy.
3. Excessively suave in action or behavior;
unctuous. See Synonyms at unctuous.
oil i·ly adv.
oil i·ness n.
What music do you listen to while you’re
working in the studio?
It was recently discovered that black holes
generate sound. Circular ripples of gas
emanating from their centers indicate the
presence of sound waves that produce a
constant “cosmic note.” The ripples are
separated by 35,000 light-years, which
03
02
What is your favorite thing to do after
completing a work of art?
What is your favorite thing to do after
completing a work of art?
Smudge all artworking areas with Black
Diamond Aquatic Sage, welcoming new energies, new thoughts and positive attitudes,
and banishing shadows and shadow spirits.
Celebrate and catch up with friends, rest,
go to the movies, read, write and get back
to work (in that order).
What artwork has had a profound influence on your work?
Water
“...as you probably know, ever since the work
of edwin hubble in the 1920s, scientists
have known that the universe is expanding,
but most have believed that the expansion
was slowing as the universe aged. in 1998,
astronomers calculated the expansion rate
by studying dozens of powerful supernova
explosions within distant galaxies, which
can light up the entire universe. yes, that’s
what they said–light up the entire universe.
anyway, they determined then that some
unknown force was pushing the galaxies
apart, causing the expansion of the universe
to accelerate. physicists went scrambling
back to their blackboards and realized that
some ‘dark energy’ of unknown origin, akin
to einstein’s ‘cosmological constant,’ was
acting as an anti-gravity force. thus, the
more the universe expands, the more dark
energy there is to make it expand even faster, leading to an exponential runaway mode.
and here’s the best thing, the summated
conclusion: apparently, empty space itself
contains enough repulsive dark energy to
blow the universe apart.”
What is the most interesting exhibition
you’ve seen recently?
What is the most interesting exhibition
you’ve seen recently?
Accept Him, Lord ..., 2005
Name the artist who has influenced you
the most:
Name the artist who has influenced you
the most:
02 / William Cordova
World Famo Paintings (detail)
2004-2005
The gems and minerals collection at the
American Museum of Natural History
The Circular Valley by Paul Bowles
“Pisco”
01 / Marc André Robinson
Wish You Were Here (video still)
2005
Marc André Robinson
What is the title of the last work you completed?
One word to describe your work?
Studio / Summer 05
Michael Queenland
Micheal Queenland
Born 1971, Lima, Peru / Lives and works in
New York, N.Y. / Education: 2004 MFA, Yale
University, New Haven, Conn. / 1996 BFA,
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
07 /
The Basquiat, Bearden and Tim Hawkinson shows; Malcolm X: A Search for Truth
at the Schomburg; and Ellen Gallagher’s
print portfolio De Luxe.
What gadget could you not live without?
What gadget could you not live without?
My blow dryer
What do you like most about being on
125th street?
What do you like most about being on
125th street?
“newports!, newports, newports ... dvds,
newports-newports ... dvds, Jean Paul
Gautier, jean paul jean paul! n-e-w-p-o-r-ts ...” The great view of the Adam Clayton
Powell Jr. Plaza.
Finish the sentence: Black is …
the mirror ... Black ... in the mind ... two
selves at two points ...” Plato (427-347
BCE) or Yoko Ono (1967)
If you could have dinner with anyone,
dead or alive, who would it be?
Born 1972, Los Angeles, Calif. / Lives and
works in New York, N.Y./ Education: 2002
MFA, Maryland Institute College of Art,
Baltimore, Md. / 1998 BFA, Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pa.
The person who could bring some respect,
vision and direction to the atmosphere of
politics, dissent and activism in the United
States.
One word to describe your work?
What’s next:
My father burned about 50 jazz CDs for
me this year that I have been listening to.
Thanks, Dad.
“There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which
is known to man. It is a dimension as vast
as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the
middle ground between light and shadow,
between science and superstition ...”
Bridge
What music do you listen to while you’re
working in the studio?
What is the title of the last work you completed?
Continual Dissipation of Dense, Black Being
What artwork has had a profound influence on your work?
Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’
Millennium General Assembly by James
Hampton
I like how the historical charge of Harlem
colors everything that happens here. As
fast as Harlem is changing, there is a deep,
sustained vibration on 125th Street that
resonates in a different time signature, at a
subsonic frequency ... am I right or wrong?
Finish the sentence: Black is ...
a reservoir from which everyone drinks.
If you could have dinner with anyone,
dead or alive, who would it be?
I would have a banquet with all of my grandparents back to like 1500 BC and get the
whole story once and for all.
What’s next:
Acadia Summer Arts Program in Maine,
traveling to Glasgow for a group show
called In the Poem about love you don’t say
the word love and setting up my new studio
in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
08 /
what’s up: student exhibition
Studio / Summer 05
Reclaiming
Beautiful July 20–
October 23, 2005
01
Every year The Studio Museum in Harlem becomes a venue for teenagers to engage contemporary art and develop their own artistic practices. In Expanding the Walls: Making
Connections Between Photography, History and Community, participants explore the
work of James VanDerZee, learn 35mm photography and intersect with peers. Through
these interactions students investigate how community can be defined and re-defined
through personal identity, social history and contemporary imagery.
Organized by the participants, Reclaiming Beautiful presents the concept of beauty by celebrating the unusual,
exposing truth and capturing ideals. Presented alongside VanDerZee’s classic and iconic images of Harlem’s past,
these images offer new observations on beauty by re-envisioning cultural conventions through personal imagery, reimagining family tradition and documenting Harlem’s transformation.
09 /
spring 2005 projects
Harlem Postcards
July 20– October 23,
2005
01
02
Chato Hill
lyric r. cabral
Born 1949, Mexico City, Mexico / Lives
and works in Bloomfield, Mich.
Born 1982, New York, N.Y./ Lives and
works in Harlem, N.Y.
“Looking directly down with the camera, or di- “Hydration” is a summer reality that has proven
rectly up,” Chato Hill says, “or looking out the timeless. As a photographer and writer living
window, not in—that’s what I like to shoot.”
in Harlem, this community is one of my priChato favors “cropping in the camera,” fram- mary inspirations. As its faces change, proping almost all his pictures through the view- erty values fluctuate and streets increase in
finder so the viewer sees his photos just as he commercial appeal, Harlem remains. Fluid.
saw them—fully realized , complete and unma- Cool. Hydrated.
nipulated. He likes “street photography”—not
just people, but the signs, objects, lampposts
and street lights that “frame” our lives. Chato
loves traditional and high-speed film, especially black-and-white, and always looks for
the unexpected perspective or angle.
In portraits of friends, beauty becomes a question of identity. In photographs of everyday activity, the overlooked is
highlighted. By depicting home, the usual is illuminated. Like the challenging discussions on community and visual culture, in which the participants took part, Reclaiming Beautiful is a dialogue about how perception affects meaning.
04
Galina Mukomolova
Born 1987
ETW participant, 2005
When I took the photo, I was reminded of
the life inside of Harlem. Even in winter, the
streets smell of incense and laughter. This image captures the endless energy and motion
behind the daily grind of Harlem streets.
03
Robert W. Johnson
Reclaiming Beautiful, the annual student exhibition of the Museum’s Expanding the Walls: Making Connections Between Photography, History and Community program is made possible,
in part, by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; and two anonymous donors in honor of Rev. Frederick &
Mrs. Eikerenkoetter.
Born 1972, Syracuse, N.Y. / Lives and
works in Syracuse, N.Y.
01 / Chato Hill
Harlem Week, Father and
Son
2005
02 / lyric r. cabral
hydration
2004
03 / Robert W. Johnson
Dream Rumble
2005
01 / Olajuwon Phillips
Untitled
2005
Studio / Summer 05
04 / Galina Mukomolva
Cyclic Aspirations
2005
When I saw this hoop I was captivated by who
may have passed summer days playing with
it. Perhaps they dreamed of being basketball
stars, and maybe some of those dreams came
true. Long after those who dreamed have
moved on, the hoop remains, hanging from a
building above the sidewalk on the corner of
Adam Clayton Powel Blvd. and 138th Street,
weathered and worn. I thought of Harlem as
always being fertile ground for both homegrown and transplanted dreamers.
10 /
upcoming exhibitions
Studio / Summer 05
Frequency
November 9 – March 12, 2005
11 /
Studio / Summer 05
Energy/Experimentation: Black Artists and
Abstraction, 1964 -1980 April 5 –July 2, 2006
02
05
03
01
01 / Jeff Sonhouse
Untitled
2003
Courtesy of Tilton /
Kustera Gallery, NY
02 / Demetrius Oliver
Ship (detail)
2003
Courtesy of Inman
Gallery, Houston, TX
03 / Adam Pendelton
Crazy About this City
2004
Private Collection
04 / Shinique Smith
Their First Bundle
2004
Courtesy of the artist
Alvin Loving
1935-2005
04
05 / Tom Lloyd
Narokan
1965
Collection of The Studio
Museum in Harlem
Gift of Mr. And Mrs.
Darwin K. Davidson
06 / Jack Whitten
Dead Reckoning I
1980
Collection of The Studio
Museum in Harlem
Gift of Bill Whitten
07 / Alvin Loving
Roger
1975
Collection of The Studio
Museum in Harlem
Gift of the artist
06
07
For over 40 years, Al Loving pushed the
boundaries of his creativity, from geometric
cubes to sewn fabric works to landscapes of
spiraling water (inspired by the 1978 Monet
exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of
Art) to collage. He made this technique his
own, becoming an heir to Henri Matisse and
Romare Bearden.
over this because I love of the texture of paper and hated to see it obscured. June Kelly,
I remember, tried to mediate our argument.
But all was forgiven when I saw his show
at the G.R. N’Namdi Gallery last September. Al created a dizzying, virtuoso display
of swirls and curlicues with spatial effects,
bold color and lots of patterns. It was
Loving embedded his abstract designs in a tour de force.
handmade paper; he painted, printed and Al arrived in New York City from his native
cut paper and appliquéd it to Plexiglas. This Detroit in 1969. His timing was impeccable:
was his alternative to framing under glass the art establishment was addressing its nebecause he intensely disliked the reflec- glect of black artists. Almost immediately he
tions. I had a serious disagreement with him had an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of
Photo: Dawoud Bey
American Art. Being an abstract artist, he fit
into the prevailing style, but being a black
artist, he and his like-minded contemporaries sometimes took heat from the black
community for working without the figure.
He exhibited at the Studio Museum in 1979
(with Howardena Pindell) and had a solo exhibition in 1986.
Al Loving was force among his peers and
mentor to other artists. He will be sorely
missed.
Lowery Stokes Sims
Studio Museum President
12 /
elsewhere: art beyond SMH
Studio / Summer 05
13 /
Studio / Summer 05
Completely Biased,
Entirely Opinionated Hot Picks
By Thelma Golden
01
02
Glenn Ligon: Some Changes @
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery
/ June 25 — September 5, 2005 /
www.thepowerplant.org
Fred Wilson: Black Like Me @
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum /
May 1— August 7, 2005
I had the wonderful opportunity to co-curate the work of Glenn
Ligon with Wayne Baerwaldt (former Director, The Power
the Aldrich Museum provides us the opportunity to see his new work.
One of the most provocative artists working today, Wilson’s solo exhibition is in conjunction with the Award of New Work based on his
growing interest in the medium of glass. As the American representative at the 2003 Venice Biennale, Wilson produced a large body
of work, much of which was made in collaboration with glass technicians from the legendary glass-making center of Murano in Venice.
Wilson’s interest in history, especially as it is revealed through objects, will come into play in this new installation.
Plant). Perhaps more than any other artist, Glenn’s brilliant work has
informed so much of what I think about contemporary culture. Glenn
Ligon: Some Changes surveys his oeuvre over the last 17 years and
explores the idea of “revision”–highlighting moments in Ligon’s practice where existing works and themes return to subsequent pieces
and in new mediums. Ligon’s practice, which incorporates sources
as diverse as James Baldwin’s literary texts, photographic scrapbooks and Richard Pryor’s stand-up comic routines, encompasses
painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation and video. Ligon’s art is
a sustained meditation on issues of quotation, the presence of the
past in the present and the representation of the self in relationship
to culture and history.
01 / Glenn Ligon
Boys with Basketball,
Harriet Tubman, Salimu,
Letter B #3,
2001
Collection of Gregory R.
Miller, New York
02 / Fred Wilson
Drip, Drop, Plop,
2001
Collection of
Susan Hancock and
Ray Otis
03 / Jamel Shabazz
Far Rockaway,
Images from A Time Before
Crack, Queens,
1984
Courtesy of Powerhouse
Books
03
I hope you had the opportunity to see Fred Wilson’s survey exhibition here at the Studio Museum last spring. This exhibition at
Here’s some must-see
exhibitions that I’m not
going to miss!
NOTICED: Little Black Sambo
I am intrigued by what seems to be the collision of several
forces that resurrect certain kinds of images, unmediated,
in current media. After years of thinking about stereotypical images through the work of such important artists as
Fred Wilson and Kara Walker, it is amazing to see these
images recirculated in their original form. I am speaking
about recent news reports about the reissue of the Little
Black Sambo book in Japan 17 years after it was removed
from bookshops because of its racist content. Last April,
a publisher in Japan decided to reissue the book under
its Japanese title and it has since sold about 100,000
copies, making it one of the top five books in Japan.
Similarly, I am eager to see Lars Von Trier’s new film,
“Manderley,” which was recently shown at the Cannes
Film Festival. But in most critical accounts of it, the use of
black face was merely commented on as an aesthetic
detail. Is it that the work of those artists who sought to
explode the notion of these images now makes it okay for
them to exist yet again in culture? Or perhaps there is
another level of comment that needs to be made about
these images as they circulate in our culture.
Jamel Shabazz: Photographs @
The powerHouse Gallery / June 3 –
September 3, 2005 / www.powerHousebooks.com
Jamel Shabazz is one of our most amazing photographic documentarians. I love the seminal photographs collected in Back in
the Days (powerHouse Books, 2001). Shabazz revisited his archive
and unearthed an extraordinary collection of never-before-published
documentary photographs for his third powerHouse volume, A Time
Before Crack, and its accompanying exhibition. A visual diary of
the streets of New York City from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s,
Shabazz’s distinctive photographs reveal the families, poses and
players who made this age extraordinary.
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14 /
elsewhere: art beyond SMH
Studio / Summer 05
15 /
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Studio / Summer 05
Dispatch: Atlanta
by Andrea D. Barnwell, PhD
I am especially excited about the two solo exhibitions that
will be on view at the Hammonds House this fall. Reflections:
A 50 Year Retrospective of Photographer Jim Alexander chronicles legendary performers and historical events that shaped the
history of America. Renee Stout, an exhibition featuring the artist’s
newest body of work, will examine healing rituals, music, symbols
and the multiple layers of culture and history. Like her previous
projects, this exhibition promises to intrigue and evoke curiosity.
03
02
01
Meschac Gaba @ Tate Modern / June 21
– August 21, 2005 / www.tate.org.uk
Glue Me Peace is a new installation by West African artist Meschac Gaba created for the Tate Modern’s Level 2 Gallery, a space
dedicated to emerging international artists. To mark the opening,
Photo: Jerry L. Thompson
Julie Merethu in Remote Viewing:
Invented Worlds in Recent Painting
and Drawings @ Whitney Museum of
American Art / June 2 – October 9, 2005
/ www.whitney.org
Remote Viewing, curated by Elisabeth Sussman, brings together
eight artists, some well known and others emerging, all of whom
create new worlds that exist somewhere between abstraction
and representation. In general, they share a fascination with asser-
tive color, invented form and the construction of dynamic spaces.
the artist released 100 white doves outside the gallery at 6:45 am
on Friday June 24. Inspired by The Nobel Peace Prize, Gaba uses
seven video screens and a jukebox to present visual and audio material of winners’ speeches dating back to 1901, when the first award
was given. Taken from the archives of the Nobel Foundation, these
speeches provide fascinating insights into the history of the prize,
which arguably is as much a history of 20th century conflict as it is a
story for charity efforts for peace.
Shinique Smith @ Boulder Museum
of Contemporary Art / June 24 –
September 3, 2005 / www.bmoca.org
Purvis Young @ Hurn Museum Contemporary Folk Art / 1015 Whitaker Street /
Savannah, Ga. / www.hurnmuseum.org
/ July 1- 31, 2005
ligraphy and ancestral ties to her South Pacific ancestry, and seeks
to refine and distill these elements into a spiritual language.
This past year we had the privilege of having the Traylor Edmondson exhibition in conjunction with the Chris Ofili show, which
showed the wonderful conversation between contemporary
practice and folk art. Another folk artist is Purvis Young, whose work
is being presented in Purvis Young Keeper of the Flame.
01 / Meschac Gaba
Glue Me Peace,
2005
Courtesy of the Tate
Modern, Level 2 Gallery
02 / Julie Merethu
working in her studio,
January 2005
03, 04 / Berni Searle
Courtesy of the Artist
05 / Jim Alexander
Sister Love Atlanta(detail)
1988
Courtesy of the Artist
Inspired by gestures of wrapping and marking, and the resourcefulness of urban dwellers to create imaginative worlds from
leftover materials found on the street, New York-based artist
Shinique Smith’s installations bridge the boundaries between
painting and sculpture. She draws on hip-hop music, graffiti, cal-
Che
c
k
Out! it
Frente Feroz, Installation by
Grimanesa Amoros
@ The Lee Building / 125th Street and
Park Avenue / Harlem / A New Public
Work in Harlem
Frente Feroz (Ferocious Front) is a permanent, site-specific
public art project by Grimanesa Amoros commissioned by
real estate developer Eugene Giscombe for the Lee Building
at 125th Street and Park Avenue, New York City.
Fahamu Pecou’s upcoming exhibition at the Ty Stokes Gallery in
the Castleberry Hill Arts District has generated buzz and excitement around the city and piqued my interest. Pecou (b. 1974),
a graduate of the Atlanta College of Art, has garnered attention for his outlandish penchant for appearing with bodyguards
as well as his hyper paintings of art magazines with himself as
the central image. Undoubtedly inspired, at least in part, by Iké
Udé’s photographs, these self-portraits explore a host of overlapping ideas including consumerism, stereotypes, the excess
of hip hop culture, contemporary media culture, performance,
black masculinity, fantasy and the ever-sought-after quest for
fifteen- minutes of fame. A close watch on this emerging artist
and a studio visit are definitely in order.
The November 10, 2005, 10th Annual Hambidge Center Art
Auction at King Plow is a highly regarded, not-to-miss event
where you can purchase excellent examples of works by emerging and established artists. Previous auctions have included
work by Radcliffe Bailey, Kevin Cole, Tina Dunkley, Kojo Griffin
and Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier.
04
The highly anticipated 51st International Venice Biennale opened
on June 8, 2005. In addition to the international pavilions, Maria de
Corral curated the Italian Pavilion and Rosa Martinez curated the
Arsenale. While many of the installations featured existing work,
there were a few with new pieces that represented extraordinary
departures from the artists’ oeuvres, such as Vapour (2004) by
South African artist Berni Searle. This single-channel video projection is an ominous, meditative narrative in which a camera slowly
zooms out from a tightly cropped view of flames to an aerial perspective of a apocalyptic landscape of steaming pots over fires.
In a staged scene, figures walk among the fires, forlorn and dislocated. As we’ve seen in Searle’s past solo exhibitions in the United
States, at Berkeley Art Museum (2003) and in Inova, Milwaukee
(1999-2000), “communication across borders and boundaries” is
a recurring theme, but this work departs from her oeuvre because
of the absence of her body; in the words of Liese van der Watt,
Searle is “known for performative pieces in which she uses her
body to explore how identities are negotiated, imposed and imagined.” Snow White, which was exhibited in Authentic/Ex-centric:
Africa in and out of Africa at the 49th Venice Biennale (2001), consisted of a powdery silhouette of her absent figure shaped by a
dust sprinkled over her body during the actual performance. In her
earlier work, Searle has used her own body in installations about
figurative presence and absence.
At first glance, it seems that the connective tissue between Searle’s
older work and Vapour is the focus on ritual, cooking and food. Part
function and part tradition, the hunting, gathering, rationing, preparation, cooking and consumption of food are reflective of a community’s
sense of belonging, inclusion and exclusion. In this new work, Searle
has progressed to a more minimal discourse, both in narrative and in
execution. The pots hold boiling water instead of food, and the figures
roam the South African social landscape, instead of in a white cube
or between the high walls of exhibitions spaces for contemporary art.
Interview by Christine Y. Kim, Associate Curator, the Studio Museum
Andrea D. Barnwell, Ph.D., Director, Spelman College Museum
of Fine Art
05
Reflections: A 50 Year Retrospective of Photographer Jim
Alexander / September 4 – October 30, 2005
Renee Stout / November 13, 2005 – January 7, 2006 /
Hammonds House Galleries and Resource Center/ 503
Peeples Street, SW / Atlanta, GA 30310 / 404.752.8730 /
info@hammondshouse.org
Fahamu Pecou / December 9, 2005 – January 21, 2006 / Ty
Stokes Gallery, 261 Walker Street, SW /Atlanta, GA 30313/
404.222.9868 / tystokes@tystokes.com / www.tystokes.com /
see also fahamupecouart.com
10th Annual Hambidge Center Art Auction /
Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences / P.O. Box
339 / Rabun Gap, GA 30568 / 706.746.5718 /
center@hambidge.org / www.hambidge.org
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feature
Studio / Spring 05
17 /
Studio / Summer 05
Franco the Great’s
Harlem Gates
Photography by Felicia Megginson
01
18 /
feature
Studio / Summer 05
For more than 25 years, muralist Frank Gaskin (also known as “Franco the Great”) has been on a one-man mission to beautify 125th Street. He began painting his colorful path across Harlem’s main shopping thoroughfare
after business owners installed steel security gates in reaction to the riotous and racially-charged 1960s. To
date, he has transformed more than 200 storefronts with his cultural and political themes. Gaskin’s work has
also been commissioned around the world—in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Franco can be found on 125th Street, across the street from the Apollo Theatre, every Sunday from 9AM to 1PM. He is also
a trained magician and often combines magic and painting to entertain passersby. To see Franco’s work, stroll 125th Street
any day before 8:30AM, when most shop owners roll up their gates, or at the end of the day when the murals, almost magically, come out again.
19 /
01 / Frank Gaskin
Welcome to Harlem:
Share the Dream
02 / Frank Gaskin
Franco between African
Village & Happy Birthday
Dr. King
03 / Frank Gaskin
Dancing
Studio / Summer 05
04 / Frank Gaskin
This Is America
11 / Frank Gaskin
Mystic of the Sea
05 / Frank Gaskin
Harlem’s Best Kept Secret
12 / Frank Gaskin
I Love New York
06 / Frank Gaskin
Recognition of Government
Workers
13 / Frank Gaskin
Franco the Great’s Signature
07 / Frank Gaskin
Happy Birthday Dr. King
08 / Frank Gaskin
Welcome to Harlem:
Share the Dream
09 / Frank Gaskin
Think Positive
By Kenyetta Lovings, Studio Museum Intern
10 / Frank Gaskin
Sunset
02
03
All murals are located on
125th Street, between
Frederick Douglass Ave.
and Manhattan Ave., Harlem,
U.S.A.
20 /
feature
Studio / Summer 05
04
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Studio / Summer 05
09
05
06
10
11
07
08
12
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22 /
feature: from the president
Studio / Summer 05
Aesthetics and
Social Justice:
A Personal Perspective
23 /
By Lowery Stokes Sims, Studio Museum President
artists were also concerned with racism, stereotyping, interracial conflict, the Vietnam War, immigration and labor
issues. They debated the relationship of black artists to their
communities, their responsibility to the wider world and
whether figural or abstract forms were appropriate for black
artists. There was and is a perception that black artists
should make figural, more accessible art rather than abstract
art, but artists worth their salt adroitly balance form and
content to create powerful, impactful images.
01
In 2004, I was invited to participate in a symposium
on the theme of social justice at Spelman College in
Atlanta, Ga. I don’t usually think of my career as an
art historian, curator and museum director in this
context, but if social justice encompasses issues of
fairness, equality and opportunity, then I have been
so involved.
As an art history major in college in the mid-1960s, I challenged my professors about the absence of artists of color in
the standard art history curriculum. At the same time black
and women artists were confronting the art establishment
about their exclusion from gallery shows, museum exhibitions and collections. In 1972, as staff in the Community Programs Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I
was involved in community outreach and programming that
provided access and opportunity for artists and community
organizations. Later, as a curator, I frequented the Studio
Museum, which opened in 1968, and became part of a community of artists, curators, critics and art historians who
shared my concerns and convictions.
This is borne out by some images that remain emblazoned on
our collective memories: Martin Luther King on the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington; Monetta Sleet’s photo of Coretta and Bernice King at
Martin Luther King’s funeral service; the young Vietnamese
girl running naked down the road after being sprayed with
napalm; the Kent State University student, arms outstretched, mouth open in a wail, kneeling over a classmate
who’d been shot by the National Guard during an anti-war
demonstration. These are the images that helped turn the
tide of public opinion, that strengthened our resolve and that
served the cause of social justice. But would such images
affect us now? Are we so oversaturated with the media that
we can observe the atrocious and revel in vicarious thrills
rather than be moved to action?
I wonder if notions of social justice, equity and opportunity
seem antiquated in an art world in which black artists and
other artists of color have been granted unprecedented
access and recognition. In this global world is the sense of
collectivity and community that we felt 40 years ago still
viable? Can art indeed address the sometimes overwhelming
yet ever-present human and societal ills that have reached
critical levels? Chicano artist, educator and former MacArthur fellow Amalia Mesa Bains perhaps gave us an attainable goal when she wrote that artists should produce work
that “informs” and has “a presentation strategy that was
anti-elitist and publicly accessible.” Those words amply
The Studio Museum’s core mission to promote black artists express how The Studio Museum in Harlem plays a role in
globally through its exhibitions, programs, publications, Art- promoting social justice in the world today.
ists-in-Residence Program, permanent collection and even
museum store positioned it as an agent for change, inclusion
and promotion of social awareness. While the goals of artists
of color and women at this time were, of course, careerist,
01
02
Studio / Summer 05
24 /
feature: from the president
Studio / Summer 05
03
01 / Faith Ringgold
The Flag is Bleeding
1967
Courtesy of the artist
02 / David Hammons
Injustice Case
1970
Collection of Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, Los
Angeles County Museum of
Art, museum purchase with
M.A Acquisition Fund
Museum number: M.71.7
Photograph C2005 Museum
Associates/LACMA
03 / Elizabeth Catlett-Mora
Malcolm X Speaks for Us
1969
Courtesy of Sragow Gallery,
New York City
photo: A. van Woerkom
04 / James VanDerZee
Harlem Billiard Room
n.d.
Modern silver print
Courtesy Donna Mussenden VanDerZee
04
25 /
Studio / Summer 05
“”
26 /
overheard
Studio / Summer 05
27 /
artist commission
Studio / Summer 05
Have you ever heard a statement or a part of a conversation that was so eloquently articulated that it should be in a book of quotations? Here are a few from public programs and
conversations that recently made me think, and I know they’ll spark critical dialogue in you.
All quotes from the notes of Sandra D. Jackson, Director of Education and Public Programs
“In the future, I think artists will see communities as nice
alternatives to museums.”
Carrie Mae Weems, Artist, May 3, 2005, at Museum of Modern Art, New York City, Friends of Education
“In some ways artists are extreme idealists. Most artists
have some radical idea. They tend to reinterpret the world in
Commissioned / Annette Lawrence
Annette Lawrence was born in 1965 in Rockville Centre, NY
and lives and works in Denton, TX
a radical way.”
Michael Queenland, SMH Artist-in-Residence, June 10, 2005, in a conversation with Sandra D. Jackson, Director of Education and Public Programs
“People sometimes decide that if there are black images in a
work, then it’s naïve and outsider. I think it has something
to do with the western tradition and how black people are
not seen as artists.”
Faith Ringgold, artist, May, 17, 2005, at Dialogues: Seminars on Contemporary Intersections in Art Session 2: Folk Art Influences: Contemporary Artists Perspectives, a collaboration between the American Folk Art Museum and The Studio Museum in Harlem
“I see Bill Traylor as a closet formalist.”
Kerry James Marshall, contemporary artist, May, 17, 2005, at Dialogues: Seminars on Contemporary Intersections in Art Session 2: Folk Art Influences: Contemporary Artists Perspectives, a collaboration between the American Folk Art Museum and The Studio Museum in Harlem
“The museum is the best playground for children.”
Geoffrey Holder, dancer, choreographer, painter, speaking from the audience on May, 17, 2005, at Dialogues: Seminars on Contemporary Intersections in Art Session 2: Folk Art
Influences: Contemporary Artists Perspectives, a collaboration between the American Folk Art Museum and The Studio Museum in Harlem
“Lenox Avenue is technically Sixth Avenue. Downtown it’s
called Avenue of the Americas before it runs into the south
end of the [Central] Park, and uptown it is called Malcolm
X Boulevard … The point is that Lenox Avenue doesn’t go
anywhere, and yet it is thought to be the most important
thoroughfare of the most important place for black people in
America, if not the world.”
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, writer, May, 22, 2005, at The Studio Museum in Harlem Sunday Salon program
Annette Lawrence / Paper Supports / 2005
28 /
artist commission
Annette Lawrence / List Pile #1 / 2005
30 /
profile
Murphy Heyliger
for Harlemade
Studio / Summer 05
Walking along Lenox Avenue,
one is enticed by the plethora of
options for those with the need
to consume—eclectic restaurants,
specialty boutiques, custommade hair-care products, relaxing
watering holes and decadent
delicatessens. However, just five
years ago many of these stores
weren’t even a thought, but
Harlemade life on Lenox was just
beginning.
Partnering with Kevin McGruder
and Patrica Alfred, Murphy
Heyliger formed Harlemade as
a visionary idea to incorporate
Harlem in quality products,
including specialized postcards,
handmade candles and, a
drawing point for many, graphic
t-shirts specific to the area.
31 /
artist-in-residence 2004-2005
Like his store—colorful, bold,
soulful and imaginative, Murphy’s
collection of graphic design
t-shirts deliver the goods. From
well-known neighborhoods in
Harlem to his newest edition,
the abbreviated HRLM tee,
Murphy is one to be watched as
an independent designer.
Trained in Communication Art
and Design at the High School
of Art and Design and Parsons
School of Design, respectively,
he went to school with some of
the progenitors of commercial
urban t-shirt design (think Mecca
and P(ost) N(o) B(ills) Nation).
Heyliger was honing his skills by
forming his first line of t-shirts,
dubbed MURUHE and lending
his graphic design skills to
several major clothing houses.
Throughout all these achievements, this Harlem native’s
home was and continues to be a
source for his creativity.
Inspired by music, Murphy’s
shirts have become walking
melodies, inspiring conversation
on and appreciation of Harlem
among fashion-forward people
all over the world. This genuine
connection with place is apparent
in all of Heyliger’s designs. With
the launch of his newest t-shirt,
HRLM, Murphy states that “it
is not because Harlem is a hot
name. My original concept is
to continue to preserve Harlem
and the rich history behind it
and I want my pride to show in
every design.”
After visiting Harlemade and seeing Murphy Heyliger’s creations,
there is no doubt that any tee
will be a vivid addition to your
wardrobe.
Makeba Dixon-Hill
Education and Public Programs
Coordinator
Micheal Queenland / Shaker Smallcraft: Adjustable Candle
Sconce, Multiple Clothes Rack and Twin Sconce (detail) / 2005
Collection of the Artist
photo: Hosea Johnson
Studio / Summer 05
32 /
check out
Dawoud Bey
Alex / 1999
Courtesy Rhona Hoffman
Gallery, New York
Lola Flash
Karisse / 2002
Collection of the artist
Studio / Summer 05
William Pope. L
How Much Is That Nigger in
the Window? (Crawl Piece)
/ 1991
Tompkins Square Park,
New York
Courtesy of the Artist and
Projectile, New York
damali ayo
living flag: panhandling for
reparations / 2003
120th Street & Lenox Avenue,
Harlem, New York
Photograph by Randal Wilcox
Courtesy of the artists and
Roulette Fine Art, New York
Sister Gertrude Morgan
The Star of Bethlehem / 1970
Collection of The Studio
Museum in Harlem, Gift
of Gerhard and Ute Stebich,
Plainfield, MA, 86.19.4
Henry Taylor
Low Ride / 2004
Courtesy the artist and Daniel
Reich Gallery, New York
33 /
collecting
Studio / Summer 05
StartingYour Collection
by Corey Baylor
Selected by Rashida Bumbray, SMH Curatorial Assistant
If you love...
check out
Dawoud Bey (Born 1953 in Queens, NY / Lives and works
Lola Flash (Born 1959 in Montclair, NJ / Lives and works
in Chicago, IL)
in New York, NY)
My wife, Racquel, and I began collecting prior to meeting and recognizing that we share similar tastes in contemporary art. We have
never been challenged by an inability to agree upon works to
purchase, but have focused on maintaining discipline in our
approach to collecting.
This approach follows basic themes that I believe are applicable to any person
interested in collecting art:
If you love...
check out
William Pope. L (Born 1955 in Newark, NJ / Lives and
works in New York, NY )
damali ayo (Born 1972, Washington D.C. / Lives and
works in Portland, OR)
Three: Do not be intimidated by the galleries—many function as gatekeepers to pieces from much-sought-after artists, but usually they are also a very helpful resource in
providing context for the work, information on the artist,
where you might view other work by the artist, information
on other interesting artists they may represent, etc. (Additionally, it is very important to understand that galleries are
there to maximize exposure and price for the artists’ work.
As a result, they will be more attentive if you convey some
knowledge about an artist.)
Four: Benefit auctions represent a great venue to learn
about new artists while supporting art institutions.
One: Buy pieces that evoke an emotional response—if your
response is that there is something interesting, exciting,
different, compelling, etc., there may indeed be something
special about the work.
If you love...
check out
Sister Gertrude Morgan (1909-1980)
Henry Taylor (Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA)
Two: Having a limited budget forces discipline in buying
only the pieces you feel most strongly about. Each year
we define a budget and historically have had to make very
tough (and heartbreaking) choices.
Kojo Griffin Untitled (Boys Looking Through Patrents Closet) / 2003
Collection of Raquel Chevermont Baylor and Corey M. Baylor
Five: Consider art publications as an investment—they can
be helpful resource in understanding debates surrounding
current trends, profiling various artists, listing gallery openings and museum schedules, etc.
Overall, collecting art should be a fun process that ultimately creates something that you live with and continuously enjoy.
Corey Baylor is a member of The Studio Museum in Harlem Acquisition Committee.
34 /
3Q’s
Studio / Summer 05
35 /
artist-in-residence 2004-2005
Stan Douglas
01
Christine Y. Kim: Congratulations on
the debut of your film, Inconsolable
Memories (2005), at the 51st Venice
Biennale this summer. In 2004, you
had created a series of 33 photos entitled Cuba, which “reveal how the utopian impulse of the Cuban Revolution
transformed the original function of
the locations in Havana while highlighting the influence of reality upon
idealism.” The photographs reveal
small narratives of everyday experiences hidden within a larger political
context. (Former banks are being
used as parking lots and cafeterias;
a church is converted into a concert
hall; a cinema became a carpentry
shop; and a convent now is a school.)
What is the relationship between
the photographs and the film?
Stan Douglas: Unlike some of my
earlier projects, the photos and film
are relatively autonomous, even
though some identical situations
can be found in each. The two
months I spent in Cuba shooting
the photographs and observing
everyday life, certainly had an
effect on how I approached writing
the script for the film, but the photos depict contemporary situations
and the film is set in 1980. However,
there is a formal connection. The
photographs all depict repurposed
places, places that have changed
their function but still bear traces
of their previous use and, in the
film, various scenes and titles are
repurposed when, over time, they
are seen in different contexts.
02
CK: I remember your video Suspiria
(2002) exhibited at Documenta XI
in Kassel, Germany, a few years ago.
Multiple projectors were tied to various computers that selected the
course of the narrative, dialogue and
sound at random. Inconsolable
Memories also has some variation,
but it is in 16-mm film and less
complex. How are the variations
different for each?
SD: Suspiria is a recombinant
system that rebuilds stories and
remixes music on the fly, and the
longer it runs the stranger the
stories and music get. But Inconsolable Memories has a simpler,
more transparent structure.
There are two synchronized film
loops. One is roughly 25 minutes
long and another that is 15. They
have a common period of five
minutes, and whenever there is an
image on one, the other is black,
so the scenes fit together like the
teeth of gears. Also soundtracks
mix from both projectors and the
titles are composed of adjectives
on one reel and nouns on the other.
I like to compare its structure to
that of a musical fugue in which
different voices systematically
overlap with one another in counterpoint. The whole thing is played
out after 75 or 80 minutes but,
like the virtually-infinite Suspiria,
different people will have different
impressions of the work depending
on when they enter the installation
and when they leave.
03
CK: How is Inconsolable Memories a remake of the film Memorias
del Subdesarrollo (1968) by Tomàs
Gutiérrez Alea, entitled?
SD:I wouldn’t exactly call it a
“remake.” Subdesarrollo is fine as
it is. I haven’t tried to retell the
story of Alea’s film, although I am
definitely in dialogue with it and
the novella upon which it was
based, Desnoes’ Inconsolable Memories. They all have a protagonist
named Sergio, and none of these
Sergios are properly tragic because
their egoism prevents them from
piecing together the significance of
what is happening around them.
Cuba of 1962, when Subdesarrollo
was set, is very different from Cuba
of 1980—almost as much as the
world of 1968 is different from the
world today.
Christine Y. Kim, Associate Curator, The Studio Museum
Stan Douglas Print Shop / Auto Shop, Habana Vieja / 2004 / Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner; (top) Photo: Michael Courtney, courtesy the artist
Marc André Robinson
Untitled / 2005
Studio / Summer 05
36 /
studio visit
Studio / Summer 05
37 /
profile
Javaka Steptoe
Illustrator
Studio / Summer 05
You can say that Javaka Steptoe’s
interest in the arts and children’s
books is part of a family tradition.
His father, John Steptoe, was a
famous children’s book author
and illustrator. His mom was also
an artist. He wasn’t sure that he
would be an illustrator, but he
knew there was a good chance.
Javaka uses everyday objects to
bring his collages to life—pocket
lint, hair barrettes, pennies; even
rusted nails are repurposed. He
uses unusual materials because
for him “collage is a means
of survival. It is how black folks
survived 400 years of oppression, taking the scraps of life and
transforming them into art forms.”
In his first book, In Daddy’s Arms
I Am Tall: African Americans
Celebrating Fathers, Javaka pays
respect to his own father, who
had at that time just recently
passed away. Since then Javaka
has published three other books,
including his most recent, The
Jones Family Express. Much like
his first book, family is at the
heart of this story. The inspiration came from his grandmother,
who is unable to walk; one of
Javaka’s friends began to send
his grandmother postcards from
different places that she visited.
His grandmother loved them, he
loved the story.
For his compelling work, Javaka
has received many honors,
including the Coretta Scott King
Illustrator Award. He was also a
finalist for the Bluebonnet Award
for Excellence in Children’s
Books. In addition to illustrating
children’s books, Javaka is also
a designer.
Jonell Jaime, Manager of School, Family
and Youth Programs
Navin June Norling & Franklin Sirmans
Brooklyn, New York, June 5, 2005
“I really wanted to be able to work depending upon inspiration, at
any moment,” Navin Norling says as we enter his spacious place
in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn. “Live/work space” is a common refrain for many artists desperate to be close to their work
and their beds at the same time. While the New York real estate
market has killed that idea for most young artists, Brooklyn and
the Bronx still provide room for the perfect live/work space.
Along with his wife, Norling rests and works in a lofty converted
building on a tree-lined street. There, the two worlds—art and
life—seem to meld into one.
produced a mix of found pop and imagined imagery, including that
of the Black Panthers logo, a grinning Fred Sanford, African-American legends, cartoons and bubble letters. With hot pinks and caution
oranges, the overall effect recalls the supersaturated colors that are
so much a part of daily existence in the middle of the city. His accompanying texts in fat wavy lines or big block letters question the power
of those inundating icons in the marketplace. The cohesion of text
and image evokes the passage of time that goes hand in hand with
graffiti and advertising on the streets outside of a place called home
(and studio.)
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Norling studied with Raymond Saun- Norling’s work is featured in Make It Now: New Sculpture in New
ders at the California College of Arts and Crafts before coming east and York at SculptureCenter through July 31, 2005.
graduating from Hunter College with an MFA in 2002. While not exactly Franklin Sirmans is an independent curator and writer and lives and works in New York City.
West Coast big, Norling’s live/work space is more than spacious. In fact,
I brought a class of 25 high school students there last summer.
The studio walls are lined with found windowpanes and bits and
pieces of wood panels scrounged from the refuse of the neighborhood—surface material for the young artist. A cozy couch provides
respite and a place to contemplate the work. With a distinctive Bay
Area aesthetic, Norling mixes graffiti and the tradition of signage—
from West African barbershop advertisements to urban marketing in
the form of stickers and wheat-pasted posters—in his sculptural paintings. Working on both sides of glass and on boxed panels, Norling
All photos: Courtesy of the Artist
Photo: Jonell Jaime
Photo: Courtesy of the Artist
38 /
coloring page
© 2005 Javaka Steptoe
I am powerful created exclusively for
The Studio Museum in Harlem
40 /
education and public programs
Studio / Summer 05
Edutainment
To some, I might be dating myself
by referencing the term edutainment. To others, it may sound like
another sorry effort to coin a word.
But to those of us in the field of
education, museums and/or community organizing, this reference
resonates because it has been the
source of much dialogue at
museum and education conferences around the world.
Sandra D. Jackson
Director of Education and Public Programs
The early 1990s witnessed
the release of the classic
hip-hop record aptly entitled
Edutainment, by KRS-One
and Boogie Down Productions (BDP). Arguably the last
great album by one of hip hop’s
earliest socially conscious rappers, Edutainment was nothing
short of what the title inferred—
education and entertainment
combined as a strategy to meet
the public where they were intellectually, politically and socially.
Over the last decade, many museums have taken steps to become
increasingly more audience-centered spaces, giving rise to interactive public programs ranging from
attention-grabbing family activities
like Family Fun @ the Studio,
complete with appearances by
familiar cartoon characters, to
social parties like SMH’s own
Uptown Fridays! music, cocktails,
culture, which was designed as a
point of entry for young professionals and new museum goers. Seminars, including Contemporary
Issues in Context, at The Studio
Museum often meld popular culture and traditional art history in an
effort to contemporize subjects
while simultaneously nurturing a
new cultural consumer.
Vital Expressions in American Art: Performance at SMH
Craig Harris and friends performing Souls
within the Veil, June 10, 2005
41 /
Public Programs
When comparing the complexion
of today’s museum with the
role historically carved out for this
kind of institution, some questions beg for answers. Have
museums been reduced to programmatic entertainment?
What would museums look like in
the absence of “edutainment”?
While the fields of community
and k-12 education seem to have
embraced this approach to learning, museums that experiment
with new ways to make content
relevant and meaningful have
often been heavily criticized and
even accused of dumbing down.
And as a result, the state of
museums in the 21st century is
wrought with contradiction. The
territorialized exclusionary practices on which museums have
traditionally been built is in direct
conflict with modern technology
and, in most cases, the contemporary patron. Slowly and
progressively, this sturdy historic
framework is withering in the glare
of a flourishing model that is
at once unexpectedly interesting
and surprisingly relevant. Many
museums are embracing a new
model that focuses on redefining
the museum as a hybrid space
where history and the contemporary can set up camp alongside
theory and practice. By functioning as a “site for the dynamic
exchange of ideas,”1 various constituencies are able to intersect
with and within the museum to
make the space more than a holding facility for objects.
All things considered, if “edutainment” translates into an engaging, vital and exciting environment, then employing this pedagogy is well worth the criticism!
1 The Studio Museum in Harlem mission, 2005.
Education and Public Programs are funded
in part, by: The New York State Council on
the Arts, a state agency, The Peter Jay Sharp
Foundation, Nimoy Foundation, Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, Elaine Dannheisser
Foundation, MetLife Foundation, the National
Endowment for the Arts, Wachovia Foundation, Citigroup Foundation, The Center for Arts
Education, Helena Rubinstein Foundation,
Morgan Stanley, Jerome Foundation, ARTS
Intern, The Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann
Trust, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation,
May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation,
Dedalus Foundation and public funds from the
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation
& Historic Preservation made available by the
office of Assemblyman Keith L. Wright
Adult Programs
The Studio Museum in Harlem has a long tradition of
presenting programs that
address prevalent issues in
contemporary art by artists
of African descent. Through
the Department of Education
and Public Programs, we offer a
range of activities and programs
that engage a diverse cross
section of artists of various disciplines, writers, scholars and
critics who share diverse perspectives with our audiences.
Sunday Salon
Sunday, October 16, 3-5pm
Architectural Walking Tours
Saturday, September 10, 11am
Saturday, September 17, 11am
Senior Soiree
Thursday, August 4, 7-10pm
Uptown Fridays! Music,
Cocktails & Culture
Friday, September 16, 7-11pm
Friday, October 14, 7-11pm
Inside/Out Gallery Tour
Chelsea Galleries
Saturday, September 10, 10am
Tours for Seniors!
Saturday, August 6, 2pm
Saturday, September 3, 2pm
Saturday, October 1, 2pm
Hoofers’ House
Friday, July 29, 7pm
Host: Ayodele Cassel
Friday, August 19, 7pm
Host: Jason Bernard
Friday, September 23, 7pm
Host: Rashida Bumbray
Vital Expressions in
American Art:
Performance @ SMH
Friday, September 9, 7pm
(top) Photo: Robert Hale; (below) Photo: Ray Llanos
Studio / Summer 05
Books + Authors: Evenings
with Writers and Others
Title: How to Rent a Negro
Author: damali ayo
Wednesday, September 12, 7pm
Title: Einstein on Race Racism
Authors: Fred Jerome and
Rodger Taylor
Wednesday, September 28, 7pm
Title: American Sublime
Authors: Elizabeth Alexander
Wednesday, October 5, 7pm
hrlm: Spell It With Pictures
Exploring The hrlm
Exhibition
Saturday October 1, 10am
Community Art Jam:
Harlem Week
Saturday, August 20, 11am-3pm
Youth Programs
The Studio Museum is dedicated to creating a safe environment for youth to express
Happenings with Artists
themselves creatively. The
Tuesday, September 27, 7pm
museum hosts free programs
for high school students outside
The Artist’s Voice
of the school environment.
Marc André Robinson,
These programs offer students
Michael Queenland,
the opportunity to meet and
William Cordova
converse with prominent visual
2004-2005 Artists-in-Residence
artists, express their ideas
Thursday, September 29, 7pm
through discussion, facilitate
tours and hands-on workshops
and develop important communication and critical thinking
skills. Pre-registration is required.
The Studio Museum in HarCall 212.864.4500 x264 with
lem acknowledges the need
questions or to register.
for families to spend time
together. Nurturing bonds
Artlooks: A Day in
between parents and their chilThe Life of an Artist
dren through art, the Museum
2004-2006 Jacob and
offers programs and activities
that allow families to share in the Gwendolyn Lawrence Gift
creative process. Bring the family Portfolio Review Day
For High School Students!
and explore our exciting exhibiSaturday, September 17,
tions. Become an artist in a
12-3pm
hands-on workshop and create
works of art with your kids!
Hands On:
Family programs are designed
Photography Polaroid
for families with children 4 to
And Emulsion Transfers
10 years old. These programs
Weekend Intensive Workare FREE. Pre-registration
is required. Call 212.864.4500 shops for HS Students
Saturday and Sunday, October
x264 to register.
15-16, 10am-1pm
Family Programs
Fun on Film!
Exploring the Expanding
The Walls Exhibition,
Reclaiming Beautiful
Saturday August 6, 10am
Function Junction!
Exploring The 2004-2005
Artists-in-Residence
Exhibition, Scratch
Saturday September 3, 10am
Words In Motion
Wednesday and Friday,
September 14-30, 4:30-6:30pm
Words In Motion Open Mic
Friday, September 30, 6-8pm
Educator
Programs
The Studio Museum in Harlem acknowledges that
teachers are the professionals at the center of education
and have the most profound
effects on the lives and
learning of their students.
The array of programs at SMH
designed for educators reflects
the Museum’s commitment to
reaching beyond the traditional
classroom and museum visit by
responding to the increasing
demand for quality arts education from an interdisciplinary
perspective.
Open House For School
and Community Educators
and Administrators /
Educator’s Night Out! An
Evening of Wine and Culture
Tuesday, September 13,
4-6:30pm
Teaching & Learning Workshops for K-12 Educators /
Say What?: Making Sense
of Contemporary Art
Monday, October 3,
4:30-7:30pm
42 /
artist-in-residence 2004-2005
Studio / Summer 05
William Cordova
Memories of Underdevelopment (detail) / 2005
43 /
harlem: where we’re at
Studio / Summer 05
44 /
harlem: where we’re at
Staff Picks
Carmelo Cruz
Senior Bookkeeper/ Payroll
(212-987-2260). I love this
place; it serves delicious
The first stop was 1515 Park Ave., vegetarian meals and juice—
where I walked into The Spanish all of which I recommend if you
are a vegetarian or just want
American Restaurant and
to feel healthy. I must complienjoyed a great cup of coffee and
ment their friendly staff as well.
a hot bowl of oatmeal and eggs
for less than $5. A great way to
Walking down the street I also
start the day.
came across a couple of street
vendors. You can purchase books,
My next stop as I walked up
CDs, oils and soap at a bargain
125th Street was the Uptown
prices. And if you haggle a little,
Juice Bar on 54 W. 125th St.
A Day In Harlem
Studio / Summer 05
you might be able to get the
price down a bit more.
Being in Harlem you are always
exposed to a wide variety of
music, from hip-hop to jazz to
reggae to African rhythms. El
Rinco Musical, 1936 3rd Ave.
(212-828-8604), offers a unique
selection of musical instruments
and accessories, from a single
guitar string to an entire drum
set. They also have a large
45 /
selection of conga drums in all
colors and sizes. You can even
sign up to take conga lesson.
Along the way I spoted a store
called The Demolition Depot,
216 E. 125th St. It looked so
interesting I walked in and found
myself among a collection of
home-décor treasures, everything
you could want to make your
living space unique and vibrant.
The eclectic antiques and post-
modern artifacts even included
mirrors to bathtubs. I started to
feel a bit hungry so I tore myself
away to find a place to eat.
boricua (Puerto Rican) cooking
in El Barrio. Eat, enjoy Latin
music and have a rum and coke,
but leave room for flan.
For dinner I had to go to La
Fonda Boricua, 169 E. 106th
St. (212-410-7292). which is
famous for their Puerto Rican
meals, just like my grandmother
used to cook. From rice and
beans to steak and seafood, you
are going to taste the best
Before leaving Harlem I stopped
at the Scarf Lady at 408
Lenox Ave. (212-862-7369).
The Scarf Lady has original
scarves and enough variety that
you can find that perfect scarf
or accessory, no matter how
unique your personal style is.
I decided to pick up a couple.
They make perfect birthday
presents, but I’m not sure I’ll
be able to give them away.
StudioSound: DJ Scientific
Power, Art and Mosaics to the People!!!
1. What are your top five greatest records of all time?
It’s impossible for me to say what my five greatest records are simply because there is too much I’m influenced by. In every
genre of music I listen to there are at least 10 top albums, so to make it easy I’ll deal with hip hop, because I started out as
an MC/DJ. First I have to say Public Enemy’s Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back; it had progressive cutting edge
production with progressive lyrics. Secondly Ice Cube’s Amerikkka’s Most Wanted, The Bomb Squad and Ice Cube what a
great combination! Too Short’s Born To Mack showed me local talent can be big too. EPMD’s Strictly Business, that group
single-handedly made me want to produce music. Rizing Sun Production’s Rule Self Power my groups second album but
first major accoplishment, confirmed that we can do this.
Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb? The answer’s pretty obvious! Ask what’s behind Grant’s Tomb, though, and it’s
a mystery to most. For the curious among you, I encourage a trip to Riverside Drive and 122nd Street. Just slip past the
tomb’s entry stairs to the shady plaza behind it and you’ll come upon a delightful surprise. Wrapping the plaza’s perimeter
walls like an extended Chinese dragon is a 400-foot long serpentine bench covered in colorful mosaic images ranging from
flowers and serpents to General Grant and Smokey the Bear.
2. What is your all-time favorite vinyl record or album cover art?
Hmm, I really don’t know. As a child I loved alot of the Parliment and Funkadelic album covers.
3. What other artistic practices function as inspiration for you?
I write rhymes and freestyle in my spare time. Before I was a DJ I was an MC in the politacally charged group Rizing Sun
Productions. I was also really into video editing/production.
DJ Scientific (Chris Davis) is an engineer and turntablist who creatively integrates electronic software and live instrumentation in his musi-
cal productions. Scientific has been commissioned with Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) to compose a sound installation for the lobby of The
Studio Museum. This aural experience can be heard throughout the exhibition season.
Photo: John Walden
By John T. Reddick
Executed as a project of CITYarts, the benches were commissioned in 1972 by the National Park Service to commemorate
the centennial of Grant’s signing of the legislation designating Yellowstone as the world’s first national park. Construction
continued over three summers under the design direction of artist Pedro Silva, working with artists Nelson Mercardo,
Warren Fox and Alan Okada, and ably assisted by hundreds of community participants. Silva, a teacher in Harlem’s 1960s
HARYOU-ACT Art program, which fostered community self-help and included artists Norman Lewis and John Steptoe,
saw the park site and its mosaic project as an opportunity for community empowerment through art.
Reminiscent of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi’s work, the benches also represent a unique architectural manifestation of 1970s
rebellion and confrontation, with their vivid contrast in form and color to the tomb’s neoclassical architecture. With each mosaic
image, one can sense the hand of neighborhood “folks” and the empowering energy those 1970s summers must have offered.
John T. Reddick works on architectural preservation, planning and public art in New York City. He serves on Community Board #9 in
Manhattan and is the Director of the Central Park Conservancy’s Cityscape Program.
Photo: John Reddick
46 /
harlem: where we’re at
Photos: Ray Llanos
Studio / Summer 05
47 /
Studio / Summer 05
48 /
harlem: where we’re at
Studio / Summer 05
Required Reading: Hilton Als
When The New Yorker staff writer Jervis Anderson died in 2000 his memorial was held in Harlem. This was
fitting, as the author of studies on A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin (as well as a too long neglected book
on gun control in America) found his masterwork in the place. This Was Harlem, published in 1982—the book
grew out of a series of pieces for The New Yorker—remains one of the most comprehensive examinations we
have of the complex “village” that continues to foster dreams and a great many realities, especially when it
comes to the idea of community and citizenship. The following excerpt from Anderson’s masterwork is from
a section called “The Promised Land.” One wonders what Anderson would make of today’s multi-racial Harlem, given his examination of the reverse emigration he describes here.
49 /
shop!
Studio / Summer 05
Museum Store
The titles on your bookshelves say more about you than just what books you’ve read. In
some ways, they describe who you are–what is most important and relevant to you in this
world. While each person’s book collection is distinct and personal, we’ve assembled here
a diverse, beautiful and handy mix of books available in the Studio Museum Store that you
can either add to your bookshelf or use to start one.
Cook Books
Hilton Als is a staff writer for The New Yorker.
By 1930, most of Harlem’s white population had fled, and blacks inhabited virtually the
entire district. “The old Harlem was dead,” a former white resident lamented in the midtwenties. “I lived there all my life until not long ago, when I was squeezed out by the
Negro population invading the old section. All the Gemütlichkeit of it is gone. Gone are
the comfortable Weinstuben where one could smoke his pipe and peacefully drink his
glass of rhine wine. Gone is the old Liedertafel and the hundred-and-one social organizations, and the Turnvereine and the singing clubs where one could pass the evening
peacefully. They have all moved elswhere, and the new places do not have the atmosphere of the old ones.... It used to be so pleasant to pass a Harlem street on a summer
evening. The young ladies were accompanying their Leider with the twanging of the soft
zither, and the stirring robust melodies from the Lutheran churches used to fill the air
on a Sunday. It is all gone now”.... As the community became predominately black, the
very word “Harlem” seemed to lose its old meaning. At times, it was easy to forget that
“Harlem” was originally the Dutch name “Haarlem”; that the community it described
had been founded by people from Holland; and that for most of its three centuries—it
was first settled in the sixteen-hundreds—it had been occupied by white New Yorkers.
“Harlem” became synonymous with black life and black style in Manhattan. Blacks living there used the word as though they had coined it themselves—not only to designate
their area of residence but to express their sense of the various qualities of its life and
atmosphere.
Grace the Table: Stories
and Recipes from My
Southern Revival By
Alexander Smalls
Item# 130
Price: $17.95
Member: $15.95
Essence Brings You Great
Cooking
By Jonell Nash
Item# 4002
Price: $29.95
Members: $25.46
Hallelujah!
The Welcome Table
By Maya Angelou
Item# 4077
Price: $29.95
Members: $25.46
B. Smith’s: Entertaining
and Cooking for Friends
By Barbara Smith
Item# 722
Price: $18.95
Members: $16.11
Sylvia’s Family Soul Food
By Sylvia Woods and family with Melissa Clark
Item# 4004
Price: $26.95
Members: $ 22.91
Spoonbread & Strawberry
Wine : 25th Anniversary
Edition
By Norma Jean Darden
and Carole Darden
Item# 1571
Price: $18.95
Members: $16.11
Children’s Books
The Neighborhood Mother
Goose
By Nina Crews
Item# 4007
Price: $15.99
Members: $13.59
Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa
By Veronica Chambers
Item# 4214
Price: $15.99
Members: $13.59
Come Look With Me
By James Haywood Rolling, Jr.
Item# 4057
Price: $15.95
Members: $13.56
The Big Box
By Toni Morrison,
Slade Morrison
Item# 2620
Price: $19.99
Members: $18.41
Be Boy Buzz
By Bell Hooks
Item# 2615
Price: $16.99
Members: $15.65
Black Beauty Books
Excerpt from Jervis Anderson, This Was Harlem. Farrar, Straus, Giroux: New York, 1982, pp. 59-60
I am Iman
By Iman
Item# 2362
Price: $45.00
Members: $41.45
Diana Ross: Going Back
By Diana Ross
Item# 3632
Price: $ 39.95
Members: $ 36.80
Midnight
Photographs by Arlene Gottfried
Item# 4100
Price: $45.00
Members: $41.45
Elder Grace
By Maya Angelou, Chester
Higgins
Item# 1278
Price: $ 40.00
Members $ 36.85
Intimate: Nudes by Marc
Baptiste
By Marc Baptiste
Item# 3593
Price: $ 45.00
Members: $ 41.45
50 /
benefit
Studio / Summer 05
2005 Spring Benefit
Spring/Summer 2005 Donors
Special Thanks
The Studio Museum in Harlem
thanks the following funders for
their generous support during
the last quarter.
(Gifts of $1,000 and above only).
Dedalus Foundation
halle harrisburg and Michael
Rosenfeld
May and Samuel Rudi Family
Foundation
Norman and Rosita Winston
Foundation
$50,000 and above
The Peter Jay Sharp
Foundation 2004/2005
Exhibition Fund
Nimoy Foundation
$49,999 to 25,000
Ehrenkrantz Family Foundation
The Scherman Foundation
Yes! I want to be a member of
The Studio Museum in Harlem for:
1 year
renewal
gift
NAME OF MEMBERSHIP HOLDER
$9,999 to 5,000
Gayle Perkins Atkins and
Charles N. Atkins
American Express Company
Pierre and Maria-Gaetana
Matisse Foundation
Lord & Taylor
N A M E O F A D D I T I O N A L M E M B E R ( FA M I LY/ PA R T N E R L E V E L M E M B E R S A N D A B OV E )
ADDRESS
CITY
S TAT E
ZIP
WO R K P H O N E
HOME PHONE
$4,999 to 1,000
$24,999 to 10,000
Altria Group, Inc.
Credit Suisse First Boston
Nancy L. Lane
Rodney M. Miller, Sr.
Development News
Photos: Ray Llanos
The 2005 Contemporary Friends Benefit outdid itself this year! Benefit Steering Committee: Lybra Clemons, Marla Guess, Lea K.
$60,000 was raised in support of education and public programs Green, Shannon J. Hales, Kelli Lane, Joycelyn McGeachy Kuls,
for the Museum.
Ruthard C. Murphy, Robert A. Smith, Calum Stephenson, Keisha
Sutton-James, Sharon A. Thompson
The Benefit buzz started early when fashion designer Tracy Reese and
the illustrious actor Hill Harper agreed to serve as Honorary Chairs Host Committee: Paul Ashley and David Hatcher, Sydne Bolden, A.
Christiaan Burke, Marsha and Len Burnett, Nicole King Burroughs
and Fendi and Mercedes came on as sponsors for the event.
and Jeffrey Burroughs, Garfield Clunie, CRG Gallery, Todd Dumas,
The turnout was fabulous! Guests tore up the dance floor and lounged
Frances Ferguson, Anthony K. Frempong-Boadu, Barbara Gladstone
in an atmosphere of beds custom designed by Museum supporters
Gallery, Godfrey Gill, David Alan Grier, Stacy Haase, Steven P. Henry,
and artists Iké Udé, Peter Som, Kira Lynn Harris, Ron Norsworthy,
Stacie J, Jayson Jackson, Mark E. Johnson, Persaud Brothers, Pam
Sheila Bridges Design in collaboration with The Andrew Morgan
Pickens, Shea Owens, Myiti Sengstacke, Jack Shainman Gallery,
Collection, Henry Jackson, Carlos Mota and Stacy Haase at BED
Carol Shuster, Cheryl and Jameel Spencer, David Watkins, Yvonna
New York.
and Brett Wright
Their support, coupled with that of this year’s Benefit Co-Chairs, Host
Bed Contributors: A. Christiaan Burke, Anthony K. Frempong-Boadu,
Committee and a very devoted Benefit Steering Committee set the
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP and NY Life, The Anonymous II
tone for the Contemporary Friends greatest success yet.
Special Thanks to: W Hotels, Saatchi & Saatchi, Katrina Parris
Many thanks to: Benefit Co-Chairs Corey Baylor and Racquel Chevremont
Flowers, Uptown Magazine, Bliss, Mizani/A Division of L’Oreal USA,
Baylor; Marsha K. Guess, MD; Idris Mignott; Holly L. Phillips, MD, and
Crystal Light and Nu America Agency
Jose L. Tavarez; and Dr. Ian Smith.
As of July 1, 2005, our sponsors include Uptown Magazine, Mercedes Benz, Fendi, Katrina
Parris Flowers and W Hotel.
For information about joining Contemporary Friends, please contact us at 212.864.4500
x221 or cf@studiomuseum.org.
What has been your favorite work of art on view at
the Museum?
Joseph Centeno
David Hammons’ AfricanAmerican Flag that hangs
on the Museum’s façade.
What is most interesting about working in a
Museum?
Being surrounded by the
beautiful works of art. I’m
an artist, so I am inspired
and appreciate the arts
environment.
What ‘tip’ can you give
every visitor that comes to
the Museum?
Become a member and
attend the Museum’s
openings and programs.
You’re bound to meet
someone spectacular.
The Studio Museum in Harlem
has received two new major
grants for its Artists-in-Residence (A-I-R) program. The
Nimoy Foundation will provide
$50,000 for the program during the coming year. Susan Bay
Nimoy and her husband, actor/
director/producer/photographer
Leonard Nimoy established their
foundation in 2003 “to recognize,
encourage, and support the
work of contemporary visual and
performing artists.” The Museum
is honored to have received the
largest grant awarded this year.
A second grant, from the
Elaine Dannheisser
Foundation, for $25,000,
was received in January. Mrs.
Dannheisser began collecting
with her husband Werner in
the 1950s, focusing on such
artists as Picasso, Leger and
Roualt. By the mid-1980s,
however, she found herself
increasingly drawn to what she
called “tough” art, becoming
among the first to purchase the
work of then-emerging artists
Jeff Koons, Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Matthew Barney. The
Museum’s A-I-R program is a
strong vehicle for her legacy.
EMAIL ADDRESS
Please do not make my name, address and other information
available to third party providers.
Special Membership Groups
Director’s Circle $2,500
Curator’s Circle $1,500
Gwendolyn Knight
Lawrence Fund
A fund has been established at
The Studio Museum in Harlem
for gifts in memory of Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence. Please
send contributions to Cheryl
Aldridge, Director, Development, The Studio Museum in
Harlem, 144 West 125th St.,
New York, NY 10027. Make
checks payable to The Studio
Museum in Harlem and indicate
that it is for the Gwendolyn
Knight Lawrence Fund.
Contemporary Friends
Couple $300
Individual $200
General Membership Groups
Benefactor $1,000
Donor $500
Associate $250
Supporter $100
Family/Partner $75
Individual $50
Student $20
Payment Method
I have enclosed my check
(make check payable to The Studio Museum in Harlem)
Please bill my
American Express
MasterCard
Visa
NAME OF CARDHOLDER
ADDRESS
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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!
General
From the DirectorSpecial
Membership Groups
Membership
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Individual $50
(Fully tax deductible)
Free admission to SMH for one.
5% discount on all Museum Store
purchases.
Members’ only discount shopping
days.
Members’ discount on select
education and public programs.
Invitations to opening reception of
exhibitions.
New! Discounts at select Harlem
restaurants.
Members of the Director’s Circle
and Curator’s Circle are the highest level of Individual membership
and the starting point for people
with increased interest in access
to artists and the art world. These
exclusive membership groups have
been instrumental in contributing
to the success of SMH and provide vital support for the Museum’s
exhibitions and programs.
Visitor
Information
SMH/Board
Studio
Summer of
05
Museum Hours
Address
CarolonSutton
Lewis
The Museum is closed
Monday,
Tuesday and major
holidays.
Vice-Chair
Trustees
Wednesday–Friday,
12–6pm
Saturday, 10am–6pm
Raymond J. McGuire
Chairman
Sunday, 12–6pm
144 West 125th Street
New York, New York
10027(between Malcolm
X and Adam C. Powell, Jr.
Blvds.)
Reginald Van Lee
Admission Treasurer
Gayle Perkins Atkins
Suggested donation:
Kathryn C. Chenault
$7 (adults), $3
(seniors and
Paula R. Collins
students). Free for members
Gordon
J. Davis
General Info
and children (12
under).
Anneand
B. Ehrenkranz
which is a big, sprawling, some- phone:
I’d also
like to take this opportunity
212.864.4500
1st Saturdays
are Fales-Hill
FREE!
Director’s Circle $2,500
Susan
what inconclusive survey of recent
to
personally
thank
Lowery
Stokes
fax: 212.864.4800
($2,135 tax deductible)
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
African art. I say inconclusive beSims, our new President, forwww.studiomuseum.org
• Visits to private collectors’ homes
Sandra Grymes
cause
we
often
expect
exhibitions
creating
this
exciting
environment
and/or viewings of their collections.
Family/Partner $75
Media Contact
Joyce Haupt
to
start
and
fi
nish
an
idea.
But
and
for
her
enormous
contribu• Behind-the-scenes tours and talks
(Fully tax deductible)
212.864.4500
x213
Arthur J. Humphrey,Jr.
often the best
are those
tions over the
past five years.
with art connoisseurs
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