BLACK ARTISTRY!!
Wow. Today we celebrated the work of Nick Cave, an innovative avant-garde multi-media artist Nick Cave. I’d seen an exhibition of Soundsuits in NY many years ago & coincidentally, Vera, Ruth, AND Kiki all sent me info about his work! Great minds! All of us keenly attracted to the work of this fantastic dancer, fabric sculptor, & performance artist. We saw two of his Soundsuits from 2008 plus a video showing the movements of the ones I saw in NYC. During our show, Kiki sent an article showing two beautiful, bushy-suited dancers performing in Detroit from 2015. Stunning & groundbreaking and our Top of the Day!
We looked next at Kahlil Robert Irving’s ceramic sculpture,100s, from 2018. Made up of glazed and unglazed stoneware & porcelain with opal, silver, and blue luster; complete with decals. This ceramic assemblage is a response to the trauma of violence against African-Americans & is part of the permanent collection at the Whitney Museum of Art. I thought it looked like it was floating on an ocean, like the slaves who were brought to the Americas. Jerry saw it as a piece brought up from the depths. Luba saw it as iced over, frozen in time. News text about protests woven into the sculpture make for a very provocative piece.
We enjoyed the celebratory quilts of the fabulous Michael A. Cummings. A self-taught quilter, Michael has many styles, but his unique portraits of African American icons are especially evocative right now. The Shirley Chisholm Quilt shows the first African-American woman to run for the head of a major political party. Shirley Chisholm’s name was on the tongues of many as Kamala Harris became the first woman of Black & Indian ancestry to be elected to Vice President. The quilt includes quotes of Shirley’s and is bordered by flags of all the states of the U.S. suggesting that, though she didn’t win, Ms. Chisholm’s brilliance had an impact on every aspect of our political fabric.
We looked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Quilt that Michael A. Cummings created and many of us were overcome with emotion. Not only does it look like Dr. King could’ve worn the very coat that’s featured in the center, his figure is surrounded by the quotes from his speeches. The names of Martyrs for the cause of Civil Rights are included in this masterpiece. Activist Medgar Evers who organized voter registrations & economic boycotts against racist establishments and was assassinated by a white supremacist is included. The three activists (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner) who were kidnapped & killed for trying to register Black voters in Mississippi are listed. Then Elaine pointed out that the names of the four girls killed the bombing of the 16th Baptist Church in Alabama are part of the roster. Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, & Carol Denise McNair are memorialized at the knee of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Katje pointed out that the hands surrounding our heroes (on a rich brown background) all showed symbols of protection. Melts your Heart.
From the things that everyone said today and yesterday, we are moved & overjoyed to be able to share these pieces together. Tomorrow – different kinds of work & wilder art!
The Craft in America episode on PBS that shows Michael Cummings is Season 11, Episode 1, the Quilts Episode. Here is a link to his part of the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/byGr5acD3PA
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