The relationship between Black people and our hair has always been a many layered one. Awe-inspiring at best – and mind-boggling at worst – the hair as a medium of self-expression can be simultaneously representative and abstract; take a look at American comedian Chris Rock’s recent documentary, ‘Good Hair’, and you’ll see what I mean.
Part of my job as exhibition curator is to meet with artists and collectors who may know of important works that may be tucked away — just waiting for their moment in the curatorial sun. One good way is to give a lecture on the topic to an interested group. So, on November 18th, I will be speaking to the Textile Study Group of New York, a highly respected and very active organization of fiber artists, writers, and conservators.
In my first entry for this blog I posed a series of questions raised by The Global Africa Project. One of them was “How do we define “African” in this age of nomadic and migratory identities?” Serge Mouangue, the Cameroonian designer working in Japan, wrote eloquently in the last Global Africa post about how he copes with the multiple experiences he’s had in Cameroon, France, Australia and Japan.
[ED: Lisa Marie Harris is a Curatorial Intern at the Museum of Arts and Design]
As a fashion-loving Curatorial Intern working on the Global Africa Project, I often find myself drifting off into stylish daydreams whenever I gather artist and designer information for the exhibition. It’s difficult to focus solely on compiling info when some of my artist research also involves ogling patterned, wax-bonded materials and African-influenced fashion!
As we prepare our show, we are often struck by the impressive personal stories of the artists we are planning to include. With this in mind, we wanted to share a bit about fiber artist Lenore Tawney.
I had the distinct pleasure of participating in the organization of the conference, Transformations: New Directions in Black Art which was held at the Maryland Institute College of Art October 23, 24 and 25th.
In two years, our exhibition “Making It Real: The American Studio Movement 1945-1969” will open, co-curated by Jeannine Falino and me, Jennifer Scanlan. We thought it might be interesting to document this process for anyone out there who is interested in how an exhibition like this comes together.
The interest in Africa today is the most focused and proactive that it has ever been, and so it would seem the timing of the Global Africa Project was precipitous. The sheer amount of talent, product and activity that is emanating from Africa, from Africans in Europe, North and South America, the Caribbean and Asia is astounding and makes organizing this exhibition a challenge.
Speaking of the African dimension in design, I would recommend the exhibition Man Ray, African Art, and the Modernist Lens, currently on view at the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. This wonderful project, curated by Wendy Grossman, not only examines how photography positioned and influenced the reception of African art among the cognoscenti and the general public, but also how African jewelry and fabrics became chic fashion items in the period between the wars.
This will introduce the blog for the exhibition, provisionally entitled The Global Africa Project, which will be on view here at the Museum of Arts and Design as of February 2011.
The exhibition will focus on design, art and craft (which figure in the forefront of the Museum’s identity) created in and out of Africa by creators living and working in Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia. Our partner in this venture is the Center for Race and Culture, Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and its founding director, Leslie King-Hammond.
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