The Interference Archive – Melissa

The Interference Archive was a fantastic experience. I was able to see protest, PSA posters, pins, T-shirts, buttons and many other items that can be used to spark social change. Specifically my favorites what have to be the pins/ buttons because I loved how the text worked beautifully with the art. I also enjoyed the posters geared towards African American justice and unity. Being able to touch and hold the items had greater meaning for me than if I were to just see them online. To know that someone once wore, touched and created the items made me feel as though I was apart of the cause! It was great to go back in time and see what happens when people think creatively to make changes in our world.

INTERFERENCE ARCHIVE

First of all I would like to mention that I have red Aliyah’s thoughts and I totally agree with her that keeping records in its original form rather than digitizing them, creates a notion of  intimacy, and an experience that cannot occur when looking at a digital copy. It was unforgettable experience and I feel very lucky and happy that I had the opportunity to have various wonderful papers and objects in my hands. I really appreciate the existence of a physical archive of protest ephemera. Opposed to looking at examples of protest art online they give us a better understanding of what artist or person exactly might felt while working on it.

These art archives helps you to realize what is the real story behind, why and how it was created, for what it stands for, how deep and dynamic it is, It feels like  you are becoming part of them, you are more sensitive towards them and you have much more freedom. When you have the paper or object in your own hands you feel deeper and stronger emotions, because you realize that something important is in your hands and they communicate significant issues, share some significant stories  that are still crucial in modern times. Art archives in its authentic form serve as evidence to convince one of the legitimacy of the ideals, phenomenons, occurrences, activism, beliefs, ideas and experiences of other individuals. And at the same time these art pieces encompass historical significance.

I was very excited by seeing various kinds of objects that are created as part of social movements by the participants themselves: posters, flyers, publications, zines, books, and T-shirts at the Interference Archive, all of which encourage critical and creative engagement with the rich history of social movements. The mission of Interference Archive is to explore the relationship between cultural production and social movements. They serve to increase awareness of our communities, to change the ideals of society, to create better, more free and acceptable world for everyone. They use this cultural ephemera to animate histories of people mobilizing for social transformation. They encourage and use their collection as way of preserving and honoring histories and material culture that is often marginalized in mainstream institutions.

 

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Visit to Interference Archive

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Keeping records in its original  form rather than digitizing them, creates a notion of  intimacy, and an experience that cannot occur when looking at a digital copy. Having the paper or object in hand, instead of viewing a virtual remake, enhances its reality; i.e., these art archives tell a story and being able to feel and see them in its authentic form serve as evidence to convince one of the legitimacy of the ideals, occurrences, and activism of other individuals. Moreover, these art pieces encompass historical significance and  history of business transaction, and exhibits the creative process itself.

At the Interference Archive, I was introduced to avenues of voices expressed via posters, t-shirts, buttons, and vines. A physical archive of protest ephemera represents an arena of responses, such as those of environmentalist,  to current actions, and norms of society. In my eyes, this archive represents a treasure chest overfilled with innovation to change the ideals of society, so that what awaits in the future is a new and improved community and home of acceptance and respect  for all individuals, and an awareness of consequences. Having and taking the opportunity to view and experience the protest art archives convince me that the accumulation of voices will soon yield needed changes in society, and I welcome such change with an open mind, and heart.

Posted by Tamar: Reflections on the museum, the gallery, and artist estate

In modern world museums, galleries, and archives play a significant and very important role. They are crucial in reviving, including, excluding, preserving, and promoting the legacies of various artists. They, collect, organize, protect and spread cultural values, evolution and characteristics of differing art eras, contributions and activism of different artists and how art history has developed and changed over time in general. They contribute greatly to the construction of history. My experiences at various places we have visited so far, gave me a new and better understanding of artists, their aims, their struggles, their accomplishments, and their stories. I learned about artists and places I did not know anything about before. My attitude, point of view, beliefs and thoughts have completely changed and I perceived Art history, culture, our environment and world entirely different way.

We visited three different kinds of institutions a museum, a commercial gallery, and a foundation or “estate”, we saw art by African American artists whose careers overlapped in the 1970s As Kyle Williams, the Estate Manager at the Benny Andrews Estate mentioned, we’re at time when historians are going back and re-assessing the 1970s and 1980s, and in the process, reviving the careers of artists whom the “art world” had forgotten or perhaps never paid much attention to. Museums, galleries, and archives play a role in which they recreate, restore and bring back the work of historically underrepresented artists in exhibits that support social change. They communicate activism, protest and voices expressed through art, which was under shadow for many years and excluded during the time when it was created.

When we visited the Brooklyn Museum and I first recognized Betye Saar’s work I was extremely happy and surprised. She is mixed media collage, assemblage and installation artist. The concepts of passage, crossroads, death and rebirth have been underlying elements in much of her work. Her art continues to move in a creative spiral. Mission of Brooklyn Museum is to create inspiring encounters with art that expand the ways we see ourselves, the world and its possibilities, where great art and courageous conversations are catalysts for a more connected, civic, and empathetic world. Museum brings together pieces of representative art that demonstrate struggle, inequality, and exclusion. Much of Saar’s current work is about issues of race and gender. Mystery and beauty remain constant forces behind her creative energy. Her works are one of the best example of how art promotes, encourages and calls for social change. Through her work she voices her political, social, religious, cultural and gender-related concerns. She kinda turns different controversial and racist images into positive symbols of empowerment and “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” perfectly illustrates this turn. Saar herself was a part of Black Arts movement, which can be seen in her multimedia collages, box assemblages, altars, and installations. consisting of found materials. Her work emphasizes on issues of race and gender, it also illustrates and expresses realities of African-American stereotypes and oppression. She is trying to show us how powerful and beautiful black women and culture is and how much passion, energy, and emotion this can bring to us. She transformed Aunt Jemima into a symbol of Black Power. Her images and artworks play important part in shaping and determining how we think and they also promote this idea of social change. I Think that thanks to Brooklyn Museum and the mission it serves artists like Betye Saar will be better recognized now for their artwork and also for their activism when it comes to defending their position as artists.

In the commercial gallery, Charles White and his art truly amazed and fascinated me. His works are very meaningful, thoughtful and deep. Charles Whites art and his activism and the way he served and contributed for social change had significant impact on my mind and views. His art is very deep, influential, important and powerful. He was an activist and wanted the story of the African Americans to be heard. He calmly and peacefully promoted his humanistic ideas and intended to move people and to encourage the advancement of racial equality. In short, his art reflects and shows black experiences, while demonstrating, promoting and honoring African Americans dignity and history. His very detailed and bold images of individuals are extremely emotional and deep. Humanism was philosophical foundation of his art, which is beautiful and politically motivated at the same time.

 

Benny Andrews’ estate is a nonprofit organization, which represents the storage of artist’s photos, journals, paintings, primary sources, educational resources and so forth, from 1950s until 2006. Estate’s mission is to take care of Benny Andrew’s work. They own hundreds of Benny Andrew’s paintings and drawings and most of them are kept there. The Benny Andrew’s estate is represented by Michael rosenfeld Gallery. They together promote and really deeply investigate legacy of Benny Andrew. They are trying to make sure that artists works are out in the world and try to sell them to places where they will be appreciated. So they serve as an educational source and aim to extend Beny’s legacy as well. In short, they preserves his paintings, collages, and share his legacy. Andrew was not only wonderful and amazing painter but also very important political activist, fighting for recognition of African American artists and culture as a whole. Throughout his life, he was adamant that to truly effect social change, making art was not enough. He captures ordinary people on canvas. His art is very passionate, emotional, energetic and peaceful at the same time. He tries to show through his art that no matter where one is coming from only matters who you really are and he communicates spiritual condition and dignity of human nature as well. When he came in New York City He went on to develop a reputation as a socially-minded artist and an advocate for greater visibility of African Americans in the art world. Andrews continued his prolific output of artwork, which ranged from explorations of history and social justice to intimate depictions of friends and family, until his death in 2006.  –Tamar

 

 

Protecting the Legacies and Preserving History

Visiting the museums, galleries and archives have been such a moving and thought provoking experience. Many of the artists that we have learned about have taken the liberty to preserve their work because they believed that if they did not, then no one else will. Benny Andrews is an example of an artist who thoroughly archived his work and because of that, now that he has passed on, his estate manager is now responsible in maintaining, organizing, and caring for his work. I would like to say that because Benny Andrews took such good care of his work, especially by archiving them, he set the tone as to how his work should be treated in the future and that is very admirable.

My experiences at the galleries have allowed me to gain new understandings of the artists accomplishments, experiences, struggles and their stories. Most of the artists were activists, and an example would be Charles White for the Black Arts Movement. I was visually drawn to White’s sketches mainly because he incorporated a variety of textures and contrast in the pieces. His work made me want to stretch my hands out and touch the subject.

Museums, galleries and archives have such an important role to play, not only for the artists but for society as a whole. Art is a form of recording keeping, therefore art is a part of history. When art is lost, stolen, broken, or destroyed that means that a part of history is missing. That is why these institutions must protect and preserve both the legacy of the artists so that history is remembered. Art plays a valuable role in telling stories of the past, present and future.

–  Melissa Morris FA 2409

Voices of ‘Forgotten’ Artists Finally Heard

History is an educational tool to learn and yield lessons about certain patterns related to society and politics. Moreover, it introduces the public to legendary and honorable individuals who strived with excellence to effectuate change in perspectives of the general public. Historical figures and revolutionizing events are recorded predominantly via written documentation, but to have history displayed in visual arts is more effective in enabling society understand and ‘experience’ what occurred in the past. Museums, galleries, and archives are all an asset in preserving, and revealing scenes of the past. They especially play a vital role in projecting the voices of forgotten artists, thereby giving the public a better and clearer sense of the past through the eyes of someone who witnessed and was influenced by the events occurring during their life. Such artists include Charles White, and Benny Andrews. The works of these artists together echo social and racial mistreatment, and in unison creates a notion of urging for change, adding more fuel to the Civil Rights Movement. Furthermore, the museums, galleries, and the estate all reflect  themes of inclusion into the art world, exclusion and creating a separate art world and abstraction versus figuration for the works of Black artists.

 

At the David Zwirner gallery, I found that Charles White’s artworks speak to all people, not only to the black community.  To create art, White’s inspiration stems from his own experience, and the events he witnessed and were aware of, specifically the racism and the economic injustice during this time. As a result, he creates art pieces that are deemed uplifting in the eyes of African-Americans. Although he placed black figures in his work, he also intends to appeal to the general public, regardless of social, racial, and political divisions. Themes he wishes for everyone to associate with includes love, hope, and pain. All in all, his work targets African-Americans, and all of humanity. Some people who respond to his work create a division in the art world, placing labels as “black art“ onto his work. White does not care for such classification, and rather focuses on his objective: to bring relief and strength to African-Americans, and, in a way, bridge the gaps among artists in the art world by depicting a universal message.

 

At the Brooklyn Museum, Benny Andrews’ “Did the Bear Sit Under a Tree” was outspoken. A clenched fist is positioned towards an object that represents freedom, dignity, and justice – the American flag. This gesture implies a sense of betrayal and hypocrisy, as many along with Andrews, hold this flag in high regard, expecting it to protect and grant them their rights to practice freely. This message created a sense of solidarity among the black community by echoing the voices of those who silently endured harsh treatment. Today, this art piece serves as a means of reflecting on history, appreciating the history of political and social matters depicted visually, instead of written. It serves as a tool of reminiscing over the struggles, during this time, and highlights the admirable responses of activism.

 

 

Benny Andrews’ Estate manager Kyle Williams had given a better idea of the works of Benny Andrews. The information he provided ranged from the detailed and elegant sketches Andrews’ made to showing Andrews’ paint pallet of tuna cans helped me get a better idea of who Benny Andrews was, and made me familiar with the his unique artistic style. Andrews put pieces of scraps and fabric together on a canvas, shaping them into representational imagery of people and everyday objects. Circle, for instance,  showed a scene of what appears to be lynching: a man is crucified, has a bloody wound on his chest, and is surrounded by white females. On each side, there is an African American woman sitting surprisingly with an unalarmed expression. The other onlookers are stung with astonishment and fear. When I took a closer look, the ropes were bound to a watermelon, with a part of the watermelon on the man’s chest.  This scene is open to interpretation; what I see is a mixture of tragedy with a bit comedy, and most importantly, the emotions that were ignited as a result of the lynching. Lynching was a horrid and inhumane event that occurred to the extent that some perhaps accepted this bitter reality of thinking that nothing can be done to change what happened; some were hopeless, while others endured silently.

What had and will always stick with me was what Benny Andrews said that encompassed who he was and his perspective of life: “Human being doing human things.” I liked he did not apply a label to himself; instead of changing himself and his work to suit the trends in artistic style during his time, he conjured up a new artistic style. His boldness and confidence in establishing, and  owning his individuality is commendable.

 

Museums, and galleries organized exhibits based on certain themes such as activism during a certain time period, figurative or representational artistic styles, and abstract expressionism. Since there was a theme in place, exclusion was involved as was done by the Whitney museum. This led to the establishment of venues such as BECC to depict works by Black artists, which led to a schism not only in the art world, but also with in the Black community as well. What can be noted here is that  there is not an absolute criteria of what classifies a work as ‘art.’ Indeed, beauty is in the eye of the beholder – what is interpreted and acceptable by one, may be unsatisfactory to another. Hence, museums are not the only places for displaying artwork; galleries, estates, and the public also have the same effect and opportunity: to dignify artists, and preserve and present artworks of historical and cultural significance for education, enjoyment, appreciation, and reminiscence.

-Aliyah Mohammed

 

The Role of Personal Experiences in Art

The role that museums, galleries, and archives have in the construction of history is that they show the thoughts and emotions of these artists during that time period. It is a different point of view than what most people have that are living today because they actually lived through that time period and in many cases experienced the realities of what was going on. My experiences at these places were one of great admiration. Every place that the class has visited had no direct visual or audio of the artists themselves speaking, except for the Benny Andrews Estate. When I saw and heard from a video interview of the artist himself talking about his life growing up and why he did what he did, was honestly pretty inspirational. Andrews struggle with racism that limited his education when growing up but that did not deter him from pursuing an artistic lifestyle and further pursuing education later in his life. Anyone would think that someone who was raised in a world where racism was blatant in social interactions that it would make the person have a bitter or angry personality, in the interview, it was the opposite with Andrews. Andrews had a positive and interesting personality especially when he was asked about his work and how he did want he wanted when it came to his work. While it seems as if he was a person that was laid back and positive, there is still strong evidence within his artwork that expressed pained emotions, such as his work “Portrait of Despair (1985)”. This specific work shows someone whose face cannot be seen sitting by himself emotionally hurting. What was interesting about this work was that Andrews cut up and used an actual pair of jeans on the person in despair, which reminded me of David Hammons work when he used everyday items such as brown paper bags and hair, and if you just take a quick glance at the work it seems as if he is real especially since the size of the work is quite large. I would consider the most important responsibility of these institutions is to preserve their work as well as their backgrounds in order to have a better understanding of where the artist was coming from and having someone like Kyle at the Andrews Estate really makes it easier to understand the artist.

Benny Andrews Estate

Galleries, Museums and Archives contribute to the construction of history because it allows viewers to be exposed to certain artists and associate them with thematic subjects. For example, if I was not aware of the career of Faith Ringgold and you see her work in the Soul of a Nation, the viewer would automatically connect her artwork with Black political activism. This contributes to the construction of history because it alters what the artist’s legacy is known for.
In the Benny Andrews estate, I learned that Benny Andrews essentially wrote and constructed his own legacy. Instead of allowing others to interpret the purpose of his actions, Andrews wrote down his thoughts and his intentions. To further demonstrate how he micromanaged his legacy, The Benny Andrews estate showed us how he wrote down dates and people, who were in photographs with him. The estate also showed us a video of Andrews discussing his process of making art and his family background. Due to the photographs and video I’ve seen in his estate, I believe Andrew’s aim was to fight against the injustices done in the art world, create art to portray his life experiences/interactions, and ensure that nobody mistakenly rewrote his history. In the video shown, Andrew said that he is an African American artist, Scottish artist and Native American one as well. This cause me to believe that one of his struggles was his biracial identity. He identified with all of his racial/ethnic identities, which also means it identified with their struggles. I think the most important responsibility of these institutions is to provide their viewers with equal amount of art from artists from different paths.

Remembering forgotten figures of the “Art World”

 

Over the past few weeks, I have visited a few exhibits featuring artists that demand to be recognized in history. Their works are being showcased in a museum, a commercial gallery, and in an estate. The works of art all encompass the term of social change. Frankly, I believe that this term can be defined as trying to escape social conditions, successfully, that have changed norms in regards to civil rights, women rights, and even the role of institutions over time.

“Soul of a Nation” in the Brooklyn Museum had a great impact on me. I had prepared by doing several readings before the class’ visit. It was hard to believe that the beautiful, and meaningful art that I was looking at had not been equally appreciated just a few decades ago, due to social injustice. However, this exhibit achieves the opposite sentiment, by recognizing the work of these artists that made up the black art scene and fought to be represented for their talent. I believe this exhibit itself is an example of inclusion and exclusion, as it includes many artists that should have participated in more shows, but didn’t,  but also showing the exclusion of a general community of artists that paths crossed unfortunately not because of his or her art, but their race. The Brooklyn Museum does an excellent job at highlighting the difficulties of these artists by bringing pieces of representative art that demonstrate struggle, inequality, and exclusion. Some of these artists will be better recognized now, not just for their artwork, but for their activism when it comes to defending their position as artists. Now, Betye Saar, David Hammons, and Faith Ringgold are recognized triumphant figures in the movement for black aesthetics due to their inclusive ideas and hard work.

In the commercial gallery, I was blown away by Charles White. He was an activist and wanted the story of the African Americans to be heard. He was to paint a mural for the library with the best sketches I have ever seen. He writes of his experiences at the library when he was younger. His mother would go shopping and without fail he’d spend hours at the library, brushing up on his knowledge in history. what he learned the most amount were the people of his color, learning names and figures that did actually have an impact in society and were true Americans. As an artist, he can illustrate that history, or share some of it. The artist himself reflects a lot about his view of education and the role of family in this piece- able to inspire and show his talent. I think this gallery contributes to constructing history, in this manner By bringing to us pieces that had been buried away, that we are able to admire, love and understand. Although it’s not the final piece, it is definitely part of the story. These works could not have taken a small amount of time- with carefully calculated geometric lines, cross-hatching pencil marks, and ultimately their size. They were representative of his willingness to create something important and perfect, in his personal view.

Lastly, we can see some of these themes again in an estate, such as the one we visited a short while ago, of Benny Andrews. This was a beautiful, intimate way to get to know the story of a magnificent artist who had lived a difficult life. The role of the estate here is so crucial for a variety of reasons most importantly, preserving the legacy of a fantastic artist that deserves praise. One of the common themes that has been seen in these different locations is finally putting the spotlight on under-represented artists. Benny Andrews did not even get along with some of his classmates at the Art Institute of Chicago when he studied there. Instead, he was a pioneer in collaging, which was new and experimental, rather than sticking to cubism, a style that had him completely uninterested. these were not reasons though for him not to “make it”, but his race brought many difficulties to him in and out of the art world. We can really appreciate witnessing small parts of his life at his home, like how precise he was with keeping good records of his trajectory and works. Unfortunately, we find that he did this himself not only to not forget, but also because he knew that no one else would keep such a close record of his life’s achievements. He was a one-man show, pushing for his works to be exhibited, selling them, preserving them, and making them. Without him here, now the estate manager who is incredibly versed and knowledgable of Andrews’ life, preserves his paintings, collages, and tries to get his works on shows to share his legacy. He and his team ensure that the works themselves are kept clean and preserved in all forms. It is a dedication to an artist in the purest form.

In closing, museums, galleries, and archives play a role in which they revive the work of historically under-represented artists in exhibits that support social change. They are now included, and the protests where heard and seen from when they were excluded. They are talented artists that deserve to have legacies preserved and promoted in the settings of a thriving art scene to have their stories told and their work presented.

Representing Artists & Constructing Histories in the Museum, the Gallery, & the Archive

 

At three different kinds of institutions (a museum, a commercial gallery, and a foundation [or “estate”]), we saw art by African American artists whose careers overlapped in the 1970s (for Charles White, the 1970s marked the end of his career and for others, the 70s were early or mid-career). As Kyle Williams, the Estate Manager at the Benny Andrews Estate mentioned, we’re at time when historians are going back and re-assessing the 1970s and 1980s, and in the process, reviving the careers of artists whom the “art world” had forgotten or perhaps never paid much attention to.

I’d like you to take a moment to reflect on the role that museums, galleries, and archives play in reviving, including, excluding, preserving, and promoting the legacies of historically under-represented artists.  How do they contribute to the construction of history? How did your experiences at any of the places we visited give you a new understanding of artists, their aims, their struggles, their accomplishments, and their stories? What would you consider the most important responsibility of these institutions?  Please discuss experiences with specific art works at specific institutions to support your answer.

Also: please answer these questions by creating a new post.  India answered them in her response to this post, which is fine!  And you should read her answer! But I would encourage you to start a fresh post with your reflection on these questions.  Give your post a title, and categorize and tag it.