Art

Two Black Artists and Their Urgent Work on Exhibit at Baltimore Museum of Art

THE AFRO — Two artists have exhibits that take on issues of violence, Black culture and identity in their own distinct ways.

Published

6 years ago

February 2, 2019

Oakland Post

By George Kevin Jordan

Two artists have exhibits that take on issues of violence, Black culture and identity in their own distinct ways at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, MD.

Mark Bradford most known for his large abstract pieces brings forth a body of work that infuses Greek mythology, poetry, hair salons and questions of identity.

“‘Tomorrow Is Another Day’ recycles ordinary materials in an homage to a shared American experience, recalling memories of his mother’s hair salon or the streets of Los Angeles,” according to the description of the exhibit.

When you first enter the exhibit space you are confronted with “Spoiled Feet” a collage installment that literally takes up the entire room. Its vibrant colors are only outmatched by its size. The space seems claustrophobic in conjunction with the piece. You are holding the walls to get through it. The lighting which places emphasis on the edge of the work, creates large looming shadows and only work to make the piece larger than life.

Another stand out installment is literally the centerpiece of one of the rooms. “Medusa” is a heap of coils and curls made from Acrylic paint, paper, rope and chalk. Though the title pulls from Greek mythology, in Bradford’s hands it takes the myth and places it on top of more modern forms of pop culture.

“In many ways Medusa wasn’t Medusa without being turned into Medusa by a man,” Bradford stated in his explanation of the piece. “Biggie made Lil’ Kim. This idea of the monster, hypersexualized, huge-butt, claw-like, long-weaved Superwoman – that’s all a fabrication of popular-culture male fantasy.”

As you leave the exhibit one of the more subtle, yet no less moving pieces is the short film “Niagara.” It shows a Black man walking down the street. It seems simple but is working on so many different levels. Bradford explained that it pays homage to Marilyn Monroe walking in a similar fashion in a 1953 film with the same name. But it invokes conversation about who gets to walk the streets, and pulls at questions of identity, gentrification and urban areas. It’s a perfect end to a bewildering and stimulating exhibit. Bradford’s work is on display until March 3.

Just down the hall in the American Art section is another exhibit with a different feel but no less urgent.

Ebony G. Patterson’s “…for little whispers…” is an exhibit that might have you revisiting it several times. That’s because the subject matter and work unravel in your brain over time.

At first glance the space looks like your stereotypical idea of a little girls room, with pink polkadot wallpaper and bright Hello Kitty dolls and toys everywhere. As you circle around the space you notice the walls are a little too dark for pink. They resemble red. And the deeply hued floor lends to a room that feels grave and dire. As you look in the corner, a kaleidoscope of butterflies take over the intersection of two walls. They look beautiful and pretty as individuals, but clustered together it makes the room feel ominous.

On top of a tapestry filled with more toys are several pairs of glass shoes. The work is a memorial to children killed in violent crimes. The piece is stark and unsettling as toys hide the darker crimes committed by adults on children. Just down the hall, a smaller piece of Patterson’s shows 150 guns decorated and painted and embroidered. All the pieces are mixed media, but the message is vivid and unsettling. Patterson’s exhibit will be on display until April 7.

The BMA is free and open to the public. To learn more about the exhibits please visit the website.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Activism

Griot Theater Company Presents August Wilson’s Work at Annual Oratorical Featuring Black Authors

The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.

Published

4 months ago

February 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Late playwright August Wilson. Wikipedia photo.

By Godfrey Lee

Griot Theater Company will present their Fifth Annual Oratorical with August Wilson’s “Half a Century,” at the Belrose on 1415 Fifth Ave., in San Rafael near the San Rafael Public Library.

The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20^th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.

Previous performance highlighting essential Black American authors included Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansberry with Langston Hughes.

The play will be performed at 3:00. p.m. on Feb. 20, 21, 22, 27, and 28 at 7:00 p.m., and on Feb. 23 at 3:00 p.m.

For more information, go to griottheatercompany.squarespace.com/productions-v2

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Activism

MLK Day of Service Volunteers Make Blankets and Art for Locals in Need

“Everyone has an opportunity to participate,” said Glenda Roberts, kinship support care program manager at CCYSB. “Our nonprofit organization and participants recognize how important it is to give back to the community and this is serving. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, ‘Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.’”

Published

5 months ago

January 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of the nonprofit.

By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Standard

The Contra Costa Youth Service Bureau (CCYSB) and Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church (BMBC) are collaborating with a team of volunteers for a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, Monday, Jan. 20 that will wrap the community’s most vulnerable people in warm blankets and provide them with an uplifting gift of art.

Volunteers will kick off their activities at BMBC at 11 a.m., making blankets for the unhoused people served by the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) and art for those in convalescence in Richmond.

Others will get to work preparing a lunch of chili, salad, a veggie tray, and water for participants, offered courtesy of CCYSB, while supplies last.

“People of all ages are welcome to participate in the MLK Day of Service,” said Roberts. Volunteers can RSVP via phone to Glenda Roberts at 510-215-4670, ext. 125.

CCYSB Boardmember Jackie Marston and her friends donated the materials and supplies to make the blankets and art projects. The nonprofit is also providing the day’s complimentary lunch, as well as employees to volunteer, under the direction of CCYSB Executive Director Marena Brown.

BMBC, led by Rev. Dr. Carole McKindley-Alvarez, is providing the facility for the event and volunteers from the church, which is located at 684 Juliga Woods St. in Richmond.

Located in Richmond, CCYSB is a nonprofit youth advocacy organization that serves eligible children, youth, and low-income families with a variety of wraparound services so they can thrive. Programs include academic achievement, youth mentorship, truancy prevention and direct response.

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Art

Vandalism at Richmond Ferry Terminal Saddens Residents

Residents have been lamenting the destruction online. Ellen Seskin posted photos of the vandalism to the Facebook group, Everybody’s Richmond, on Jan. 12, saying she encountered it while out on a walk. “It was on the sidewalk, the street, the doors to the ferry, even in the art installation and the ‘stone’ benches,” she said. “I reported it but knowing how slow they are about getting things done — I just know that the longer you leave graffiti, the more likely they are to spray it again.”

Published

5 months ago

January 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Graffiti mars the walkway at the Richmond Ferry Terminal. Photo by Kathy Chouteau, The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

“This is why we can’t have nice things,” stated the post on NextDoor.

The post referenced images of graffiti at the Richmond Ferry Terminal. Not just on the terminal, but also on public artwork, on trail signs, on public benches and the boardwalk.

On Wednesday, the Standard stopped by to see it for ourselves. The good news was that it appears the graffiti on the terminal and on the artwork, called Changing Tide, have been cleaned for the most part. But graffiti remained abundant in the area around the relatively new ferry terminal, which opened to the public just six years ago.

Graffiti artists tagged benches and the boardwalk. Cars that had done doughnuts in the street marked the cul-de-sac just outside the historic Craneway Pavilion.

A ferry worker told us the graffiti had been there since before he started working for the ferry service about a week ago.

A member of the Army Corps of Engineers who did not want to be named in this report called the scene “sad,” as “they’d done such a nice job fixing it up.”

“It’s sad that all this money has been spent and hoodlums just don’t care and are destroying stuff,” he said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how soon the graffiti would be removed. The Standard reported the graffiti to the city’s graffiti abatement hotline. We were prompted to leave a message reporting the address and location of the graffiti.

“It was on the sidewalk, the street, the doors to the ferry, even in the art installation and the ‘stone’ benches,” she said. “I reported it but knowing how slow they are about getting things done — I just know that the longer you leave graffiti, the more likely they are to spray it again.”

In the comment section responding to Seskin’s post, local attorney Daniel Butt questioned why there aren’t cameras in the area.

On Nextdoor, one resident suggested searching to see if the tags match any accounts on Instagram, hoping to identify the perpetrator.

On its website, the City of Richmond says residents should graffiti immediately call Public Works graffiti removal and/or Code Enforcement at 510-965-4905.

Kathy Chouteau contributed to this report.