In Une ligue d’un: Black Testament

Une ligue d’un: Black Testament

The Catacombs

May 5, 2023, to June 3, 2023

Renée Baker

In Une ligue d’un: Black Testament, composer, music director, and artist Renée Baker showcases a surrealist view of the possibilities of black artistry. 

This exhibition Une ligue d’un, which translates to “a league of one,” includes large paintings on paper, sculptures, and an experimental film that create unexpected and dramatic entries into the audio-visual arena. Having created a system of visualizing and interpreting musical information and scores, a system she calls CCL (Cipher Conduit Linguistics), there is no distinguishable decision between her visual and audio worlds. This technique uses semantic concepts and gestures of composition to influence the perception of an image as not just an image, but as partner to the chosen score sounds.

Baker’s devotion to recontextualizing boundaries within her work also contains a twist of social détournement, as she addresses the often less-than-honest portrayal of people, especially the lives of African Americans in the 1900s. Listening to and seeing new soundscapes gives the audience a different way to view “otherness,” enacting a form of social justice without overt protest and presenting positive narratives of cultural life without changing a frame.

Her unique juxtaposition of styles, rhythms, and moods creates new meanings in the listeners' relationship with sound art. Reinterpreting, reevaluating, and reimagining the merging of images and sound brings another level of analysis and appreciation. Nothing is easily packaged. Subtle ruptures between imagery and sound achieve an edge of experimentation that drives the images towards a narrative not controlled by either the viewer or the creator. Her intent is to convince the viewer’s mind to marry the two elements and encourage a flow that at first glance appears mismatched but that ultimately creates a comfortable dissonance that allows the viewer to take their interpretation to a new “anywhere” without losing sight of the historical sources that interrogate what lies beneath.

RSVP for the opening reception on Friday, May 5th, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the link below:

About Renée Baker

Renée Baker is a visual artist, film artist, composer, and recontextualist. She is the founding music director and conductor of the internationally acclaimed Chicago Modern Orchestra Project (CMOP). This polystylistic orchestral organization grew from the plums of classical music and jazz. A member of the world-renowned collective Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Baker has received critical acclaim for her graphic score novels from performances in Berlin, Poland, London, Scotland, and as far-reaching as Vietnam.

Baker developed the Mantra Blue Free Orchestra (Chicago), PEK’ Contemporary Project (Berlin), and Twilight Struggles (Berlin) as well as being involved in over 20 cutting-edge new music ensembles. Baker was Principal Violist for 24 years of the acclaimed Chicago Sinfonietta. Her conducting language, CCL (Cipher Conduit Linguistics), is an advocate language for linguistic autonomy in sonic graphic scoring. She has composed over 2000 traditionally notated contemporary classical works for ensembles and has written scores for over 220 silent films, as well as crafted 100+ of her own experimental films. Her ability to embrace traditional compositions as well as various creative parameters in her work has led to commissions from the Chicago Sinfonietta, Berlin International Brass, PEK’ Contemporary Project, Joffrey Ballet Chamber Series, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, among many others, and she serves as an Artistic Consultant for many classically oriented organizations.

WE GOT A GRANT! 2022 Neighborhood Access Program

"Art is Business"  #DCASEgrants

We're happy to announce our selection as a Neighborhood Access Program grant recipient from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events! 

The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) announces the Neighborhood Access Program. This program aims to support the cultural vitality of every Chicago neighborhood via grant programs and partnerships designed to be responsive to the complex needs of individual communities. This program offers direct grants for community-based arts and culture activities.

Tactical Urbanism in The Horizontal Landscape "Soundscape Tapestry" exposes pedestrians to the experience of what is viewed inside the gallery creating a dynamic platform for large-scale installations, moving image works, and sound performances. This collaborative effort has put two artists, a composer/percussionist, and a visual/installation artist, in a space to create a new body of work that will draw on the inspiration gained from the environment of the Bronzeville neighborhood.

Bronzeville Art District Trolley Tour 2022, Pedestrians viewing Experimental Films 

This funding will support Bronzeville's cultural vitality through collaboration with soundscape artist and composer Reggie Nicholson. The Phantom Gallery Chicago will build a sound and visual installation while expanding its body of work. The piece will be made by recording sound in the neighborhood (the "horizontal landscape" sounds) and then woven together with a new composition by Nicholson. The music tapestry will play alongside experimental film projections curated by visual artist Alpha Bruton. The piece will be presented at the Bronzeville Artists Lofts commercial space and at the corner of 47th and Vincennes. "a series of free public art installations." #DCASEgrants

Tactical Urbanism in The Horizontal Landscape "Soundscape Tapestry" exposes pedestrians to the experience of what is viewed inside the gallery creating a dynamic platform for large-scale installations, moving image works, and sound performances. This collaborative effort has put two artists, a composer/percussionist, and a visual/installation artist, in a space to create a new body of work that will draw on the inspiration gained from the environment of the Bronzeville neighborhood.

2022 AIR Composer and percussionist Reggie Nicholson Soundscape Tapestry

47th and Vincennes Empty Lot, September 16th, 2022  Tactical Urbanism In the Horizontal Landscape

We’re excited to announce Tactical Urbanism in the Horizontal Landscape "Sound Scape Tapestry," and the use of funds will be to Create a dynamic platform for large-scale installations, moving image works, and sound performances. This project was funded by the Neighborhood Access Program from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. #DCASEgrants.

Tactical Urbanism in the Horizontal Landscape Experimental Film Series

"Art is Business"

Reggie Nicholson Artist in Resident 2022 - "Soundscape Tapestry"

The Phantom Gallery Chicago is proud to announce a collaboration with composer and musician Reggie Nicholson as resident artists for the 2022 program year.  

"Mettle" (2018) features his second solo recording for percussion. 

The instantly recognizable style and sound of Reggie Nicholson have elevated him to one of the most distinctive, inventive, and inspirational drummer/percussionists of his generation, a formidable technician but one who uses his considerable skills constructively and with infinite taste.

Born in Chicago, his drum concept perfectly fitted the needs of many extraordinary Chicago musicians. An active member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1979, Nicholson has absorbed the musical influences of each AACM member learning the skills to compose and improvise original music.

Nicholson has performed and recorded with a wide variety of jazz and new music luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Muhal Richard Abrams, Amina Claudine Myers, Leroy Jenkins, Anthony Braxton, Sam Newsome, Myra Melford, Wilber Morris, Elektra Kurtis, Billy Bang, Butch Morris, James Spaulding, Yuko Fujiyama, Oliver Lake, Fay Victor, Roy Campbell, just to name a few. In addition, Reggie has toured throughout Europe and Japan.

As a composer, he was nominated twice for the Cal Arts Composition Award in 1993/1994. His compositions were performed throughout NYC, including concerts for Roulette, Interpretations, Vision Festival, and the AACM.  

Nicholson's recordings, which have highlighted his compositions, are "Unnecessary Noise Allowed (1997)," which features his quintet, The Reggie Nicholson Concept. "Percussion Peace" (2005) is a solo recording experimenting with electronics and percussion instruments. In 2007,  the premiere of "Timbre Suite" (Tone Colors) was recorded for a percussion ensemble." Surreal Feel" (2008) shows the maturity and growth of his composing skills with music for brass instruments and percussion. "Mettle" (2018) features his second solo recording for percussion. His latest recording, "No Preservatives Added" (2020), features new compositions for the percussion ensemble.

Currently, Nicholson is continuing to explore the aesthetics of his musical ideas.

Reggie Nicholson, Composer/Percussionist 

 Tactical Urbanism in the Horizontal Landscape

 "Soundscape Tapestry." 

He will work directly with the lead artist and chief curator, Alpha Bruton. In addition, Phantom Gallery Chicago will provide technical and administrative support for creating new work and exploring new ideas with a two-month sound and video exhibition at the end of the project.

Phantom Gallery Chicago's mission is to promote the betterment of the visual arts community through the arts and to promote cultural activities in exhibits, workshops, and artists-in-residence projects. This collaborative project will utilize sound and visual art in a public installation. Soundscape Tapestry will echo the African American music experience unique to the sounds of Chicago. As a visual artist, Alpha Bruton will experiment with abstractions, vibrational sound narratives, and vibrational sound narrations in response to the experimental sound of composer/percussionists Reggie Nicholson in an eight-week series of concentrated studio time to develop platforms for exploration and creation of new works.

Elastic Arts and AMP- CHI Presents: Intersections, Chicago Jazz Fest Afterfest AACM

Phantom Gallery Chicago realizes artists need to keep creating and inventing at their best and that they need time to reflect and work seriously or just for fun. The journey to becoming a skilled and accomplished artist is lifelong. When you invest in your talent, you can reinvigorate your passion for making art. But, an essential part of the process is building into your schedule a time for renewal, new experiences, and a different perspective. Self-directed artist residency, "artist vacations," is not taken to get away from their work but to find ways to inspire their work with new vitality and energy.

The goal is to give artists a space to imagine new work methods. The AIR is followed by a two-month exhibition created, fully documented, and a full-color exhibition catalog. Collaborating artists are encouraged to share their ideas and complete a visual diary of drawings, collages, videos, or photography. This visual journal will reflect the on-site experience, employing themes, contemporary narratives, and personal or historical regarding the course or discourse of their work.

Elastic Arts and AMP- CHI Presents: Intersections, Chicago Jazz Fest Afterfest AACM

While artist residencies have traditionally provided opportunities for artists to work in solitude, many residency programs today are designed specifically around artists engaging the local community. Increasingly, organizations still primarily offering retreat-style residencies are expanding into community-engaged work and looking for best practices from peers.

This collaboration is curated by the chief curator of the Phantom Gallery Chicago Network and is an ambitious new sector using tactical urbanism and contributing to the horizontal landscape. With the intent of exposing pedestrians and tourists to the experience of what is viewed inside the gallery—creating a dynamic platform for large-scale installations, moving image works, and sound performances, which has had a dedicated space at the Bronzeville Artist Lofts since 2014 years. 

Past presenting film and media artists: "The Kaleidoscope Effect"  by Tali Farchi and Royce Deans (2011), "Vacation Spot" curated by Janelle Vaughn Dowell (2014); Collective Voices "CV Film Festival" curated by Ife Olatunji; (2015-2016). "Wabi House Media" Presents "Pop-Up Movie Theater," "Tactical Urbanism," "Experimental Screenings," and RACE Films" curated by Renee Baker (2017- 2021). "Ceremonial Teas," the Social Move initiative, was curated by Larissa J. Akeremi (2020).

All the projections are accompanied by original soundscapes juxtaposed with the urban sounds of Bronzeville @ 47th Street and various intersections of the community. 

 - September 16th, 2022, 8pm - 10pm

Open virtual studio visit with artist Lashon Fouche of the Wild Yams Col...

ARTIST. WRITER. EDUCATOR.

Venise Keys is a visual artist, writer, and educator raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Venise's art has been exhibited throughout Chicago at The Cre.ea.tive Room, the Museum Science, and Industry, KaLab Gallery, +Plus Gallery, Woman Made Gallery, and Intersect Chicago (formally known as SOFA: Sculpture, Objects, and Functional Art & Design Fair). She also exhibited at Front Room Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, and the Saint Louis Museum of Art in Saint Louis, Missouri.

She has a Bachelors's and Master's degree in Painting with a Certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies for her research on Black Feminist politics. She served as adjunct faculty of art for Illinois Central College, Bradley University, and has lectured at Dillard University on the role of the Black artist. This work is published in the scholarly journal, Kalfou: Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies.

This year, Venise's writing on art education has circulated to Norway, Germany and she is recently published in a New York arts and culture magazine, Hyperallergic. Venise is currently an artist-in-residence at Wild Yams: A Residency for Black Women & Mothers located in The Cre.ea.tive Room. Venise teaches high school visual art at Art In Motion Creative Arts School and is the program director for the Kappa Chapter of Gamma Xi Phi Professional Art Fraternity.

What is the Lashon Fouché method to holistic arts education?

Increased self-esteem by abandoning perfectionism and imposter syndrome habits about art-making.

Developing intentional creative routines to use observations, emotions, meditations, and daily life dreams in the artwork.

Offering consultations/programming collaborations to promote alternative expressions of knowledge and socially responsible activism.

Sweet Fruit Falling A SPATIAL ORATORIO FROM THE OPERA BALDWIN CHRONICLES: LONE ALCHEMY

Thanks to the artist in resident Renee Baker for having the vision to bring the project to Bronzeville and record in the Loft Gallery of the Phantom Gallery Chicago Network.  The artwork installed is the sculpture installations of  Renee Baker, "Because we are Nature," featuring her junk drawer series. Visual art is the collection of the gallery.

A CITY OF WORKS EPISODE

SWEET FRUIT FALLING, A SPATIAL ORATORIO FROM THE OPERA BALDWIN CHRONICLES: LONE ALCHEMY

This moment in the life of James Baldwin represents temporality, impermanence, the futility of dreams, and reckoning with the finality of inequality of life in the USA for Black Americans. Baldwin realizes that never will people of color achieve equity or equality in his lifetime..the boxes for blacks and whites have been set..with civil rights almost non-existent.

CAST

RENEE BAKER

Composer

 

DEE ALEXANDER

Performer

 

COCO ELTSSES

Percussion

 

LUV MOSLEY

Saxophone

Artistic Team

Concept/Director

George Cederquist

Concept/Commissioning/Music Direction

Catherine O'Shaughnessy

Concept/Editor

Brad Caleb Le

Chicago Fringe Opera is dedicated to presenting innovative vocal works emphasizing new and contemporary styles, engaging with the Chicago community through intimate and immersive performance experiences, and fostering and empowering local artists. Chicago Fringe Opera is at the forefront of producing dynamic contemporary vocal works in the city of Chicago.

A City of Works – an oblique reference to former Mayor Richard J. Daley's moniker for Chicago – combines the power of music and design in a series of site-specific digital experiences. Evoking the ethereal nature of theatre itself, audiences embark on individual journeys to landmarks throughout our city, unlocking audio and video content and joining a collective experience to watch performances through individual personal devices.

Arriving at specific locations, audiences scan a QR code on their smartphone to access a music video of a given newly commissioned work, the piece having been filmed at that locale, creating a fleeting yet shared theatrical experience. Thus, the project eliminates the need to gather groups of people while leaving content both free of charge and accessible at any time to audiences.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Supported by The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation & The CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

Ear Taxi Festival in Chicago, Renée Baker New Music USA

"Art is Business"  

PODCASTS AND DISCUSSIONS | SOUND LIVES

SHARE THIS

Renée Baker: Nothing’s Gonna Stop You From Creating

As part of this month’s Ear Taxi Festival in Chicago, Renée Baker will lead a string quintet from her, Renée Baker will lead a string quintet from her Chicago Modern Orchestra Project in a performance of her composition Eternal Units of Beauty for one of the Spotlight Concerts at Chicago’s Phantom Gallery on September 26. Learn more about Ear Taxi’s Spotlight Concerts here. 

She will also participate in Ear Taxi’s panel discussion “What are the components of a thriving ecosystem for new music?” moderated by New Music USA’s CEO Vanessa Reed on September 29 at the DePaul Art Museum. More info about that panel can be found here in Chicago Modern Orchestra Project.

New Music USA · Renée Baker: Nothing’s Gonna Stop You From Creating

Frank J. Oteri in conversation with Renée Baker

August 30, 2021—10:30pm CDT via Zoom

Via a Zoom Conference Call between New York and Illinois

Additional voiceovers by Brigid Pierce; audio editing by Anthony Nieves

Spending an hour over Zoom chatting with Renée Baker about her more than two thousand musical compositions and perhaps almost as many paintings was inspirational as well as motivational.

Virtual Open Studio- Textile Artists Talk About Their Art

"Art is Business"  Listen to the artist speak on "Creative Conversation," Trish Williams,  Rhonda Hardy.

Featured Artist: Trish Williams,  

Trish Williams was born and raised in Chicago in the North Lawndale community, where she attends public school.  Once she completed elementary and high school education, she attended Malcolm X Community College. Then, under the tutelage of Barbara Jone-Hogu, she was introduced to the AfriCOBRA collective and the South Side Community Art Center, where she was introduced to an even broader spectrum of African American artists.

While she has always created as far back as she can remember by drawing, painting, and sewing, but in 1997 she saw a book titled “A Communion of The Spirits” by Roland Freeman about African American quiltmakers and was reminded of her ancestors who carried on these traditions and knew that is what she must do too, but not for the beds, but for the walls because would encompass most of the things that she loved about art.

She’s exhibited local, national, and international, and her works are collationed globally, and several public art commissions in the Chicagoland area.  Her work is also included in exhibition catalogs, magazine publications, and she is listed as one of 100 artists in the Midwest.  She is also seen in the movie “Southside With You” about President and Mrs. Obama if you look quick enough.

The Women of Color Quilters Network is a non-profit organization* founded in 1985 by Carolyn L. Mazloomi, a nationally-acclaimed quilt artist and lecturer, to foster and preserve the art of quiltmaking among women of color.

It supports its membership through presentations, providing venues for sharing technical information, grant writing, and other services. It offers quilts and fiber art to museums for exhibition and researches and documents African American quiltmaking. In recent years, the Network has showcased the work of its members before national and international audiences. An important component of the network's activity is its quiltmaking in social and economic development projects. Educational projects and workshops foster exposure to the arts, creative development, and improved self-esteem. These programs present the benefits of quilting to audiences of all ages, income levels, ethnic backgrounds,s and learning abilities.     *(IRS 501(c)(3))

Guest Artist - Rhonda Brady: 

Rhonda Hardy is an artist committed to social empowerment by encouraging the appreciation of diverse cultures as seen through art. Her artwork has been exhibited and sold at venues such as the South Side Community Art Center, Gallery Guichard, and the Beverly Arts Alliance. 

The journey to manifest my story started in high school, where I sought to learn everything I could about African and African American culture. I subsequently went to college and obtained a Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in clothing and textiles and became certified in Interior Decorating. So, it is a natural progression that I use my passion, skills, and knowledge as a tool to tell the story of the African American experience using the medium of hand-crafted textiles, fashion, and storytelling.

SPONSORS

Bronzeville Art District August 20th Art Walk Hybrid Experience

"Art is Business"

October Virtual Trolley Tour- Open Studio

Evanston Art Center Announces Inaugural Curatorial Fellowship 2020-2021

"Art is Business" https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/curatorial-fellow

JOIN US FOR AN INTRODUCTORY 

"CREATIVE CONVERSATION" WITH ADERO KNOTT

Adero Knott- Co-Curator and facilitator

Knott (she/her) is an emerging curator who debuted at MCA Chicago, curating "Disability and Perspective", one of four exhibitions belonging to the Commons Artist Project of Norman Teague + Fo Wilson's blkHaUS studios. Adero is a Prosthetics Designer and Founder of AK Prosthetics, Corp., an AdaptiveTech startup on a mission to make customized prosthetics and adaptive wearables accessible and inclusive. Adero has been featured in Forbes, Chicago Sun-Times, and American Inno for her innovative work in the community of Chicago. Adero is also an ADA 25 Advancing Leadership Fellow of 2020.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2020
Evanston Art Center
Curatorial Fellowship

EXHIBITION DATES: July 10 – September 5, 2021
CONTACT: Cara Feeney, Director of Exhibitions
Email: cfeeney@evanstonartcenter.org

EVANSTON ART CENTER ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL CURATORIAL FELLOWSHIP CO-CURATORS: ALPHA M. BRUTON AND ADERO KNOTT

The Evanston Art Center (EAC), an artistic hub on the North Shore for over ninety years, believes that some communities are all too rarely represented in the curatorial world. To address this situation, the EAC has developed a recurrent, project-based position for a curator of color with ties to the Evanston community to develop an exhibition of their choosing. It is the EAC’s intent that such an exhibit will both build new ties to historically underrepresented groups as well as introduce Evanston and the greater Chicago area to new curatorial and artistic perspectives.

In this, the inaugural year of the program, the EAC is excited to announce the appointment of co-curators Alpha M. Bruton and Adero Knott as this year’s Curatorial Fellows. Their final exhibition will be on display in the Evanston Art Center’s First Floor Gallery from July 10, 2021– September 5, 2021.

Bruton and Knott’s artistic vision entails an intergenerational curatorial practice that seeks to provide a model for emerging and established curators to innovate in curating inclusive experience, gain practical curating experience and critically reflect on how their curatorial style will imprint on the Evanston community and the world. In four exhibitions, each running two weeks, exhibiting artists will examine the state of their environment in society through themes of Racism, Spirituality, Documentation and Art as Wellness.

Throughout the exhibition, Bruton and Knott will invite artists, curators, and the Evanston Art Center community to participate in a series of public dialogues facilitated by Knott and the exhibiting artists. These dialogues will explore ways artists examine their environment through themes of Racism, Spirituality, Documentation, and Art as Wellness, as well as the intersection of art and social justice – how do identity and intersectionality affect our lived experiences, as seen in the practice of an artist?

This program serves as an extension of the Evanston Art Center’s nonprofit mission to foster the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences. It also fulfills its vision to be widely recognized as a dynamic art education and exhibition center that encourages freedom of artistic expression and enriches cultural life. The EAC strives to be a hub of artistic endeavors, a passionate advocate for the arts, and a valuable partner for arts initiatives in the Evanston community.

The Curatorial Fellowship exhibition will be exhibited in the first-floor gallery of the Evanston Art Center. 

Learn more about the Curatorial Fellowship: https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/curatorial-fellow

About the Evanston Art Center 
The Evanston Art Center (EAC) provides inspiring art education, exhibitions, and expression for all. The EAC is a non-profit that has supported the arts for more than 90 years. 

For more information, please visit us online at www.evanstonartcenter.org or contact Cara Feeney, Director of Exhibitions, at cfeeney@evanstonartcenter.org. 

Visit the Evanston Art Center on Facebook: www.facebook.com/EvanstonArtCenter;  follow us on Instagram: @EvanstonArtCenter.

Evanston Art Center
1717 Central Street
Evanston, IL 60201

Wabi House MicroCinema Screenings Open House

"Art is Business"  posted for Renee Baker

Wabi House MicroCinema

Screenings Open House

 Saturday, August 24

12 noon- 10 pm

Phantom Gallery Chicago Network 

436 E 47th St Suite #205 

Award-winning composer and filmmaker Renée Baker present film selections from the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project canon.

SCREENINGS:
Body and Soul                               12:00 pm
Ask Your Mama                              1:30 pm
The Seashell and the Clergyman     2:45 pm
Within Our Gates.                            3:45 pm
Borderline.                                       4:55 pm
The Flying Ace.                               6:00 pm
God's Stepchildren.                          7:00 pm
A Page of Madness.                         8:15 pm
The Blue Bird.                                 9:15 pm
OuterExtremia Short Films presented between features.

Refreshments provided.

File Image from Renee Baker Facebook,  presented at University of Illinois 

Tickets available at Eventbrite 50 Cents 

File archive image 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wabi-house-microcinema-screenings-open-house-tickets-68912696731

Experimental-ism- Three Chicago Artists Present: Painting, Photography, Process

"Art is Business"  “EXPERIMENTALISM” Painting Photography and Process

New Works by artist

L. K. Akinremi, Cesar Conde, LaDiPo Famodu,

July 19, 2019 - August 9th, 2019

Opening July 19th, 5pm 

Join us on BlogTalkRadio "Creative Conversation" for a candid conversation with three Chicago artists each presenting critical thought and expressing experimentalism in their artwork. 

The specific question I want to press is what are some ways we define "Experimental-ism", while we exam the state of our environment? Each has thought critically about experimentalism in their art practice and what that means. 

Call in to speak with the host at (760) 888-5766

 “EXPERIMENTALISM” 
Painting Photography and Process

Photography @Larissa Kim Akinremi 

 July16th, 11am Part 1
In Physics, the black body is defined as an object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation that falls into it. It can radiate any wavelength of energy. In America and around the world, the Black Body is a vessel of beauty and wonderment. It is magnetic. It has been sold, is for sale, is revered, sought after, despised, copied, and used as a source of entertainment and pleasure. The Black Body is perceived differently through the lens when emotion is evoked; through speech, anger, happiness and through triumphant times. Larissa Kim Akinremi uses nature as an experiment to showcase the Black Body in outdoor landscapes.

Creating Abstract-yet-Human-like Wire Figures @ LaDiPo

July 23rd 11am, Part 2
Experimentalism to me represents the process of learning by doing - a pedagogy I apply to both my scientific work and artistic practice. As a materials researcher, I am eager to find the potential in products deemed as waste to other industries and incorporate them into the concrete. As an artist, I’ve discovered my own personal style in creating abstract-yet-human-like wire figures. Through exaggerated gestures, these figures greet each other and activate every object they encounter. LaDiPo Famodu. 

Painting, "Man with Butterflies @ Cesar Conde

August 6th, 11am

Experimentalism - "Of Human Survival Series" is a body of work influence by Michelle Alexander's book "The New Jim Crow" regarding mass incarceration of black and brown bodies. As an artist who deals with social issues, I started using endangered species juxtaposed with black and brown bodies to serve as a bridge to a conversation of difficult issues. Black and brown bodies are also endangered due to unbalanced systemic racism in the justice system. The lively colors of these animals and insects soften the pathway to a difficult conversation, it’s a commentary on both racial inequality and climate change and who suffers the consequences of both. Cesar Conde

EXPERIMENTALISM -

BlogTalkRadio Interview Questions to contemplate

"WE ONLY THINK WHEN WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH PROBLEMS.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or Why not?

“Learning is the ability to reflect on the experience, to make sense of what came our way, and to grow personally and socially as a result.”

EXPERIMENTALISM is largely centered on the human experience. Universal education was the key to teaching people how to abandon their habits and think creatively.

EXPERIMENTALISM

”WE ONLY THINK WHEN WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH PROBLEMS.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or Why not?

Reference:

PROPONENT JOHN DEWEY (1859-1952)

American Philosopher, Psychologist, and Education Reformer

-As a Philosopher: What is LEARNING?

ArtSlant shut down after twelve years

Near the end of this MAY 2019, ArtSlant shut down after twelve years in operation. Co-founder Catherine Ruggles has determined it is no longer possible to keep the site running.

First and foremost: you deserve a heartfelt thank you! From the start, ArtSlant has always been a community built by and for artists, arts professionals, and art lovers. Whether you maintained a member profile or premium artist website, followed the latest criticism in ArtSlant magazine, applied to the ArtSlant Prize, or wrote exhibition reviews, your contributions helped make ArtSlant what it was: a resource that inspired, supported, and promoted artists and writers from across the global arts community.

Some background

In 2007, Georgia Fee and Catherine Ruggles launched what would become a twelve-year commitment to emerging artists, arts writers, and critics. Beginning in LA as a network for local artists, ArtSlant Magazine ultimately expanded to fifteen cities and countries around the world, bringing on board fresh writers, editors, and artists to critique, unpack, reflect on, and generally chronicle art and its engagement with contemporary culture. For nine years, ArtSlant also awarded the ArtSlant Prize, celebrating outstanding work from emerging artists. From 2013–2018, ArtSlant hosted a Residency for artists and writers in Paris, founded in honor of Georgia Fee following her passing in 2012.

Georgia Fee took a chance on so many of us, building open pathways to success in an industry that can be hard to break into. ArtSlant Prize winners had their work evaluated by respected gallerists and curators and exhibited at art fairs in Miami and New York City. Many have gone on to have major gallery representation and exhibit their artwork widely. Likewise, countless writers cut their teeth in this small company to go on to edit and write for mainstream art publications, a trajectory we’ve always been very proud of.

Special thanks to our customer service guru, Marcela Rodriguez Aguilar, our exhibition listings champ, Ninna Palmario, and past editors Andrea Alessi, Natalie Hegert, Joel Kuennen, Charlotte Jansen, Andrew Berardini, Stephanie Cristello, Charlie Schultz, Abraham Ritchie, Trong Nguyen, and Sophia Powers.

Thank you

On behalf of all the staff and editors who have left their marks on the site, we want to extend massive gratitude to each of you who made ArtSlant not only a respected platform for emerging artists and art criticism but also a space for play and experimentation. Without your artwork, artist profiles, blog posts, reviews, and exhibition listings, ArtSlant could never have been the meaningful, engaged community it was. Huge thanks to all the artists who supported ArtSlant through our subscription services. ArtSlant was unique in the world of contemporary art in that it created an opportunity for artists and writers to support each other. We have truly loved browsing through all the incredible artwork you have uploaded and shared on the site and hope we, in turn, played a role in your creative growth.

Save your work

Toward the end of April, Catherine will bring the site down. If you haven’t done so already, please save anything hosted on ArtSlant that you want a record of—be it artwork, blog posts, accolades, or reviews. You can find a record of your artwork, artist statements, prize wins, reviews, and other activity by flipping through the tabs on your ArtSlant profile page. Artists with Premium Subscription websites can look here for info on how to transfer your unique domain name.

ArtSlant Prize IX Winners’ Exhibition, SPRING/BREAK ART SHOW, New York City, 2018. With work by David Rios Ferreira, Sabato Visconti, Katya Grokhovsky, and daàPo Reo

Now the good news! ArtSlant will live on as a resource in two digital archives: the Library of Congress and the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC).

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress welcomes ArtSlant as “an important part of [its web archive] collection and the historical record.” Initially, the ArtSlant archive will be available to researchers at Library facilities and by special arrangement. After one year, the Library may also make the collection available more broadly by hosting it on its public access website. Learn more about the Library's Web Archiving program goals here and check out their web archives.

NYARC

The New York Art Resources Consortium will also include ArtSlant in its web archive collections. NYARC comprises the research libraries of The Brooklyn Museum, The Frick Collection, and The Museum of Modern Art. These libraries are committed to “enabling access to the broadest possible range of print materials related to art and art history,” and now they are also making archival copies of important web resources for preservation and access purposes.

All of the content included in the web archive collections is made publicly accessible via NYARC’s Archive-It account (full-text search and metadata), within a shared catalog via records they create for websites (called ARCADE—the union catalog of the Frick, MoMA, and the Brooklyn Museum), and via full-text search in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

We hope you feel as proud as we do that the art and writing of everyone in the ArtSlant community will live on in these resources. We have been honored to shape and continue what Georgia Fee and Catherine Ruggles began, supporting ArtSlant’s commitment to artists, arts writers, and criticism for over a decade.

—The ArtSlant Team