Carter, Curtis

English

epublications@Marquette

Marquette Universitye-Publications@MarquettePhilosophy Faculty Research and Publications Philosophy, Department of6-20-2013African American Perspectives: A Trio of Exhibitsat the Milwaukee Art Museum ShowcaseAccomplished Black ArtistsCurtis CarterMarquette University, curtis.carter@marquette.eduPublished version. Published in the newspaper entitled "Shepherd Express." June 20, Art (2013): 30.Publisher Link. © 2013 Shepherd Express. Used with permission.JUli( 20 I Soute Monde JUIIE 21 I Nalty Nation JULY 11 I Basölle Days Festival! JULY 11 I Tweed Funk Columbia Sl Mal)"s .. "...,.... ......... c.._ The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure with Aislinn Emirzian Friday, June 28, 8:00 pm Learn the best tips and t ricks for giving & receiving pleasure. 30 1 JUNE 20, 2013 ~..).....,;r. VISUALART I E I E . *~ ~ .. " ~ J ;~ • ~ . tri. llf~lcan tAmerlcan .. PeFspectives t\' ATRrO OF EXHIBITS AT THE MILWAUKEE {} ART MUSEUM SHOWCASE ACCOMPLISHED BLACK ART1STS II BV CURTIS l. CARTER A t the Milwaukee Art Museum, • it isn't often that museum ex-• hibitions address issues of aes-thetie alld social import, but its thought"provoking "30 Ameri-cans" and "Wisconsin 30" exhibitions are an exception. A three-hour, five-channel digital video, "Question Bridge: Black Males" by Hank Willis Thomas, Chris Johnson. Bayete Ross Smith and KamaI SinclaiJ; completes a trio of exhibitions showing until Sept. 8. These exhibitions offer viewers a fresh look into contemporary American life as seen from the perspectives of an exception-ally talented gathering of black artists. Not since "Songs of My People" (1993) and 'Watts: Art and Sodal Change in Los An-geles" (2003) at the Haggerty Museum have black artists received so mUeR attention in Milwaukee. Whal:, tben, are we to take away from viewing this art? When I first saw "30 Americans" in Washington, D.C., last yeru; I was struck by the range and visual power of the works, much of it unfamiliar. This prob-ably means that accomplished black artists are still under-represented in mainstream museum exhibitions and collections today. These exhibitions invite discussion of im-portant questions faci.ng all Americans. For exarnple, what counts as black identity in relation to a society of increasing diversity and complexity? As expected, individual artists approach this question from differ-ent perspectives. Kara Walker's Camptmv/1 l.Ildies references a 19th-century song by Ste-phen Foster used in concert with blackface minstrels. Walker' s life cycle narrative is ex-pressed in elegant black silhouettes spread across a large wall in the galJery. Gary , Simmons' installation, Duck, Duck, Noose, employs white Ku Klux Klan hoods seated on randomly placed chairs with a hanging rope in their midst to invoke memories of an ominous threat from the past. Mov-.ing beyond these historie references, Hank Willis Thomas's digital print Basketball and Chain explores the manipulative uses of contemporary advertisements that exploit iconie dreams of farne and success linked to a career in basketball. Overall, direct refer-ences to African heritage are few, apart from Sharon Kerry-Harlan' s Womal1 witl! Roses. Other artists arnong the "30 Americans," including Jean-Michel Basquial:, Robert Co-lescott, David Hammons, Gaty Simmons, Carrie Mae Weems and Kehinde Wiley, raise questions concerning race, religion and sexuality. Artists from the 'WISCOnsin 30" group reference social commentary, environment and.images drawn from.liter-ary or other personal expenences. Among them: Reginald BaylOl; Tyanna Buie, Larry Chatman, Richard O. Lewis, Christopher McIntyre, Ras 'Ammar Nsoroma, Mika! Floyd-Pruitt, Evelyn Patricia Terry and lverson White. · "Question "Bridge: Black Males" invites men in a variety of life situations to explore black male identity;the a,rtists accomplished this by posing questions and obtaining re-sponses from interviewees. The results are frarned in video dialogue for viewers to ex-perience in aseparate gallery. One important outcome of these exhibi-tions is to inform our eommunity of the con-tributions of contemporary African Ameri-can artists both in the global art world and in Wisconsin. Judging from the excitement shared by artists and guests at the opening previews, this project promises to be a spe-cial opportunity for the Milwaukee commu-nity to explore and appreciate th.e contribu-tions ofblack artists to our understanding of Ameriean art and cu1ture. Kehinde Wiley, Tripie Portrait 0' eharles I, Oil and enamel on canvas, Triptych, 82 x 96' in., 2007 SHEPHERD EXPRESS , '" • ~ • 

African American Perspectives: A Trio of Exhibits at the Milwaukee Art Museum Showcase Accomplished Black Artists

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African American Perspectives: A Trio of Exhibits at the Milwaukee Art Museum Showcase Accomplished Black Artists

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