CAAM Here & Now - Fall 2019 by The California African American Museum

here & now California African American Museum Fall 2019

welcome. Over the past few years, CAAM has strategically opened its new exhibitions in sync, delivering all at once a suite of thought-provoking shows that cover an enticing range of subjects and artistic genres. It’s a somewhat unusual approach; many museums prefer to roll out exhibitions one or two at a time over a few months. But at CAAM we like to start each new season with a bang, and this fall is no exception! We commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the influential Los Angeles streetwear brand Cross Colours with an exhibition that delves into how the groundbreaking company has made waves in the fashion world through their unique blend of Afrocentrism and social justice. We also present the first installation project of Los Angeles artist Timothy Washington, known for his visionary, politically charged mixed-media works. A trio of exhibitions considers how African American histories and traditions play out in the realms of contemporary art and culture, remaining as relevant today as they were many years ago. Making Mammy examines how the enduring mammy stereotype reinforces an ahistorical view of black womanhood, while LA Blacksmith highlights numerous local black artists working in metal, situating their work within the context of West African traditions. And Dust My Broom—the latest rotation from our permanent collection—is the largest selection of works by southern vernacular artists ever displayed at CAAM and likewise draws revealing connections between the past and the present. We’re toasting each of these new exhibitions in CAAM style, with a Cross Colours twist: a ’90s-themed iteration of our opening celebration, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop! So dig into your closet, hit the thrift shops, or splurge on something new, and join us for an unforgettable night of art, history, culture, and fashion on Wednesday, October 2, 7–9 p.m. See page 10 for details, and see you there!

4 exhibitions | 10 public programs | 16 for families | 18 visit

Photo: HRDWRKER

exhibitions Cross Colours: Black Fashion in the 20th Century September 25, 2019 – March 1, 2020 In 1990, on the first season of the hit primetime television show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, lead actor Will Smith wore a series of boldly hued and geometric looks designed by a young Los Angeles–based urban apparel line named Cross Colours. African American-owned, founded by Carl Jones and T.J. Walker, the brand quickly skyrocketed, securing a plethora of orders across the country and breaking color barriers in the field of men’s apparel. The commercial success of Cross Colours, which Jones and Walker created for black youth with the premise of producing “clothing without prejudice,” had a significant influence on the mainstream fashion industry, inspiring it to take notice of the emerging importance of urban streetwear. Working in the golden age of Hip Hop in the late 1980s and 1990s, Jones and Walker incorporated bright colors and graphic designs that reflected not just trends in fashion, but also a cultural embrace of Afrocentrism in response to unjust Reagan-era policies, rising poverty, police brutality, and substandard educational opportunities. They appealed unapologetically to a black aesthetic, while strategically using product placement, social justice messaging, and community outreach to address these pressing issues. Thirty years later, Cross Colours continues to engage in the socio-political moment and counter negative portrayals of black youth. The first exhibition to examine this groundbreaking brand, Cross Colours: Black Fashion in the 20th Century showcases vintage textiles, media footage, and rare ephemera that illuminate how Cross Colours has permeated popular culture and how fashion can be used to tell history anew. This exhibition is curated by Tyree Boyd-Pates, History Curator and Program Manager, and Taylor Bythewood-Porter, Assistant History Curator. Cross Colours promotional material featuring company founders Carl Jones and T.J. Walker, ca. 1991. Photo by Michael Segal. Courtesy the Cross Colours Archive

LA Blacksmith September 10, 2019 – February 16, 2020

exhibitions Timothy Washington: Citizen/Ship September 25, 2019 – March 1, 2020 Los Angeles–based artist Timothy Washington (b. 1946) has crafted a visionary display of mixed-media works in his Leimert Park residence for over fifty years. A prominent figure during the Black Arts Movement—a key moment in the 1960s and 1970s when African American artists and writers collectively celebrated black culture—Washington has been a pioneer of socio-politically charged work ever since, exhibiting both locally and nationally with renowned fellow artists, such as Charles White and David Hammons. In the late 1970s, after years of creating his celebrated dry point drawings and carved wooden sculptures, he sought to innovate his use of materials and techniques and shifted to producing futuristic assemblage sculptures, which he continues to make today. To create them, Washington dips cotton in white glue, then applies it to shaped wire-hanger armatures, while also embedding myriad objects that he finds in his neighborhood or collects through family and friends. This exhibition presents Washington’s very first installation project, Citizen/Ship (2019), a powerful yet playful collection of works that meld American patriotism with Afrofuturistic narratives of fantasy and science fiction. Through references to technology, utopia, and mysticism, Timothy Washington: Citizen/Ship speaks to both the negative and positive aspects of American culture, emphasizing issues that affect black lives: violence, racism, and displacement, but also survival, hope, love, and reconciliation.

For decades black artists in Los Angeles have worked with metal for its historic and symbolic significance, as well as for other sociocultural, political, and practical considerations. LA Blacksmith highlights this tradition, from historic Los Angeles metal sculpture that signifies the durability of West African metalsmithing aesthetics to contemporary explorations of iron and steel alloys, bronze, copper, tin, aluminum, and gold. Beginning with Beulah Woodard’s homages to African mask making, LA Blacksmith examines how the Watts Rebellion and other political and aesthetic ideas shaped midcentury metalwork. Contemporary artists explore metal as appropriation, power, and play in twenty-first century Los Angeles. For these artists, metalwork layers the tension between tradition and resistance, preciousness and posture, as well as the sacred and the profane. The artists with work in this exhibition are Joseph Beckles, Kendell Carter, Adrienne DeVine, Charles Dickson, Melvin Edwards, Charla Elizabeth, Maren Hassinger, Artis Lane, Ed Love, Kori Newkirk, John Outterbridge, Duane Paul, John Riddle, Alison Saar, Betye Saar, Gerard Basil Stripling, Kehinde Wiley, Glen Wilson, Beulah Woodard and Suné Woods. LA Blacksmith is guest curated by independent curator jill moniz. Alison Saar, Smokin’ Papa Chaud, 2001. Wood, tin, and found objects, 118 x 21 x 20 in. Courtesy the artist and L.A. Louver, Venice, CA

This exhibition is curated by Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager. Timothy Washington, Rest in Peace, 2017–19 (detail). Mixed-media assemblage. Courtesy the artist

Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection September 10, 2019 – February 16, 2020

exhibitions Making Mammy: A Caricature of Black Womanhood, 1840–1940 September 25, 2019 – March 1, 2020

Featuring the largest selection of works by southern vernacular artists ever displayed at the California African American Museum, Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection examines the remarkable reach and legacy of arts traditions from the American South. The region’s vernacular manifests itself in assemblages and quilts, as well as sculptures, paintings, and drawings, executed from found or repurposed objects by largely self-taught artists who spent their careers excluded by the mainstream art world. Reflecting themes associated with spirituality, social justice, folklore, and daily life among common folk, works by artists such as Sam Doyle, “Missionary” Mary Proctor, and Purvis Young mirror the ingenuity, creativity, and deep sense of community among African Americans.

Making Mammy: A Caricature of Black Womanhood, 1840–1940 explores how the mammy figure was produced in an effort to temper the atrocities of enslavement and serve southern interests domestically, economically, and politically. Bringing together films, photographs, and artifacts, it examines the legacy of the institutionalized stereotype, considering a century of complex manufacturing of black femininity, power dynamics, and mass-media messaging that still affects black women’s body image, lack of agency, and sense of self. Making Mammy uncovers the nuances behind this figure and illuminates the vestiges of America’s role in enslavement through the mammy’s appearance in literature and cinema.

The exhibition showcases numerous recent acquisitions and places them in the context of other works from the permanent collection— specifically, alongside those connected to the California assemblage movement, including by Noah Purifoy and John Outterbridge, Los Angeles artists who were born in the South. In this regard, Dust My Broom explores the affirmation, continuity, and innovation of African American southern vernacular aesthetics brought into the West through several waves of migration. Complemented by additional loans from local collections, these compelling works illustrate the breadth of approaches practiced by artists from the South, as well as by contemporary artists, including Dominique Moody, John T. Riddle Jr., and Betye and Alison Saar, who absorbed southern influences through personal experience, family ties, and their peers.

This exhibition is curated by Tyree Boyd-Pates, History Curator and Program Manager; Taylor Bythewood-Porter, Assistant History Curator; and Brenda Stevenson, Professor and Nickoll Family Endowed Chair in History at the University of California, Los Angeles.

This exhibition is curated by Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager.

Publicity photo for MGM’s Gone with the Wind, 1939. Courtesy Terry Alex

John Outterbridge, First Poet, Olivia, 1993 (detail). Mixed-media assemblage, 37 x 111⁄2 x 38 in. Collection of the California African American Museum. California Afro-American Museum Foundation Purchase

One of the most pervasive stereotypes constructed during the post-Civil War era, and arguably the most enduring image from the days of Jim Crow, the mammy was a staple caricature in the romanticization of the Antebellum South. Popularized into the twentieth century by characters such as “Mammy” in MGM’s hit film Gone with the Wind (1939), this archetype of black domestic servitude was often depicted as good-natured, overweight, and loud. Presenting an ahistorical view of black womanhood within southern plantation hierarchies, the mammy not only embellished the realities of black life in the American South, but it also denied African American women their femininity, beauty, and strength.

celebration Wednesday, October 2, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Opening Celebration Cross Colours: Black Fashion in the 20th Century Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection LA Blacksmith Making Mammy: A Caricature of Black Womanhood, 1840–1940 Timothy Washington: Citizen/Ship Come one, come all in your ’90s Hip Hop wear! DJ sets by Jasmine Solano and Earry Hall + 7:30 p.m. Performance by Timothy Washington 8:00 p.m. Performance by Culture Shock 9:00 p.m. Don’t Stop! After Party The celebration continues at Free Play, right across the parking lot from CAAM! Good art, people & food trucks FREE rsvp@caamuseum.org

public programs All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change. Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs. RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Sunday, September 1, 2019 | 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. Afrofuturist Block Party in Leimert Park Location: Leimert Park, 4343 Leimert Blvd., Los Angeles 90008

Inspired by the work of Leimert Park–based artist Timothy Washington, whose work is the focus of a solo exhibition at CAAM beginning September 25, celebrate the limitless innovation of Afrofuturism with hands-on art workshops at the 11th Annual Leimert Park Village Heritage Festival. Partners include LA Commons, KAOS Network, and the USC Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg. Support provided by USC RAP: Race, Arts & Placemaking.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. In Conversation: Taurean Nixon and Tyree Boyd-Pates Presented in conjunction with Ernie Barnes: A Retrospective, Taurean Nixon, artist and former NFL player for the Denver Broncos, and Tyree Boyd-Pates, History Curator and Program Manager at CAAM, discuss how Nixon navigates between the disparate worlds of football and art, as did Barnes.

Photo: HRDWRKER Photo: HRDWRKER

Sunday, September 8, 2019 | 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Animate Space with Debbie Allen Dance Academy DADA Ensemble Many of Ernie Barnes’s paintings depict movement, dance, and music. On the closing day of Ernie Barnes: A Retrospective, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy DADA Ensemble presents a performance inspired by his paintings. Sunday, September 8, 2019 | 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Dorian’s Live Neosoul & Yoga Groove through a 60-minute yoga flow led by Hieroglyphics yoga studio owner and CSULA Pan-African Studies professor, Staci Mitchell, featuring neosoul music with live vocals by indie singer Dorian! Beginner friendly and open to all levels, this celebration of bodies in motion echoes the dynamic figures and scenes found in the work of Ernie Barnes. Please bring a yoga mat. Tuesday, September 10, 2019 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Curatorial Walkthrough: Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection Tour Dust My Broom, the latest exhibition featuring work from CAAM’s permanent collection, with exhibition curator Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager. Learn more about black artists from the American South, and find out how the southern vernacular reached California through migration, ancestral ties, and peer influence. 11

Saturdays, September 14, October 12, November 9, and December 14, 2019 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Docent-Led Tours Every second Saturday, CAAM offers in-depth tours of selected exhibitions. Meet passionate and knowledgeable members of CAAM’s Volunteer Docent Council for spirited conversations about these exhibitions: LA Blacksmith in September, Timothy Washington: Citizen/Ship in October, Cross Colours: Black Fashion in the 20th Century in November, and Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection in December.

Photo: HRDWRKER

Thursday, September 19, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Points of Access: Contemporary Art Writing Location: Art + Practice, 4334 Degnan Blvd. LA 90008

Organized by CAAM and Art + Practice (A+P), the Points of Access series continues with a focus on artists’ needs to build a sustained practice. In four public programs, CAAM and A+P welcome artists of all stages and genres to explore the many ways to navigate the art world at each point in their careers, and the lessons learned. The third program at A+P focuses on writing for and about artists. Panelists include author Lynell George; Carolina Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times; and Lindsay Preston Zappas, founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Carla. Moderated by Harry Gamboa Jr., artist, writer, and educator.

Sundays, September 22, October 20, and November 3, 2019 | 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. CAAM Reads! Calling all book lovers! CAAM’s monthly book club continues this fall with titles selected in conjunction with the CAAM exhibition Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection. September’s book is the highly acclaimed The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson. October’s selection is Colson Whitehead’s enthralling novel, The Underground Railroad. In November we’ll discuss Zora Neale Hurston’s treasury of African American folktales, Mules and Men. See the exhibition and then join with fellow readers to share ideas and conversation. Friday, September 27, 2019 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Curatorial Walkthrough: Timothy Washington: Citizen/Ship Tour Timothy Washington: Citizen/Ship with exhibition curator Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager at CAAM, and featured artist Timothy Washington. Hear more about Washington’s creative process and the inspiration behind the exhibition.

Saturdays, September 28, October 26, November 30, and December 14, 2019 | 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. MOVE: Dance ’90s Inspired by the Cross Colours 30th anniversary exhibition, bring your best breakaway pants and dance the popular moves of the 1990s, such as the Running Man, Roger Rabbit, and Cabbage Patch! September’s session surveys top jams and moves with dancer and dance historian E. Moncell Durden. In October, it’s Hammer Time with Tatiana Zamir, choreographer, artist, and movement therapist. Shamell Bell, who received her PhD in Culture and Performance at UCLA, focuses on mastering the Kid N’ Play in November. Close out the year in December with a Soul Train led by choreographer, actress, and filmmaker Myshell Tabu. For all ages and abilities!

Friday, October 18, 2019 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Curatorial Walkthrough: Cross Colours: Black Fashion in the 20th Century Tour Cross Colours with brand founders Carl Jones and T.J. Walker and CAAM exhibition co-curators Tyree Boyd-Pates, History Curator and Program Manager, and Taylor Bythewood-Porter, Assistant History Curator, to hear how this fashion brand pioneered the melding of Hip Hop culture and social responsibility. Friday, November 1, 2019 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Curatorial Walkthrough: LA Blacksmith Tour LA Blacksmith with independent curator jill moniz and discover how local black artists continue a long tradition of working with metal. Wednesday, November 6, 2019 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Listening to Art with Dawn Lundy Martin Inspired by the works in Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection, hear a reading of selected poems by Dawn Lundy Martin, recipient of the 2019 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Presented in partnership with Claremont Graduate University and the Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards.

Friday, November 15, 2019 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Curatorial Walkthrough: Making Mammy: A Caricature of Black Womanhood, 1840–1940 Tour Making Mammy with curators Taylor Bythewood-Porter, Assistant History Curator at CAAM, and Brenda Stevenson, UCLA history professor and guest curator. Hear more about how the mammy figure was created in an effort to temper the atrocities of enslavement and serve southern interests domestically, economically, and politically. Tuesday, November 19, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Fashion Pioneers/Tastemakers: Black Design Collective Clothing designers produce an aesthetic expression that transcends time and context, whether through costumes in feature films, music videos, or the everyday. Find out how Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, Angela Dean of Deanzign, Kevan Hall of Kevan Hall Designs, and T.J. Walker of Cross Colours—together, the founders of the Black Design Collective—created iconic looks that defined fashion for a generation and made it more accessible and inclusive.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 Mixer 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. | Program 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Points of Access: Speed Mentoring Mixer Organized by CAAM and Art + Practice (A+P), the Points of Access series continues with a focus on artists and their need to build a sustained practice. In four public programs, CAAM and A+P welcome artists of all stages and genres to explore the many ways to navigate the art world at each point in their careers, and the lessons learned. This final program at CAAM includes an introduction to professionals in the field, followed by a speed mentoring mixer. Mentors include Karen Atkinson, founder and creator of the artist-run company and art project, Getting Your Sh*t Together for Artists; Rosalyn Escobar, grants manager at the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; Letitia Fernandez Ivins, senior manager of Transportation Planning (Arts and Design) at Metro Art; Kyle Foster, Shopify LA; Pete Galindo, founder of Civic Center Studios; Pauline Kamiyama, director of the Santa Fe Arts Commission; Karen Mack, founder of LA Commons; Silas Munro, designer, author, artist, and professor of Graphic Design at Otis College of Art and Design; Angelise Williams, Shopify LA; and others.

Photo: HRDWRKER

Wednesday, December 18, 2019 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Animate Space: Syncopated Ladies The exhibition LA Blacksmith inspires this performance by Chloe and Maud Arnold, the sister tap-dancing duo Syncopated Ladies, who will explore the themes of metal and motion. As 2019 draws to a close, come celebrate the capacity of this malleable art medium and how artists have activated it in their work. 15

Sunday, November 10, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Putting it Together Artist Timothy Washington often embellishes his sculptures with found materials. Assemble a unique object using a combination of materials we’ll have on hand plus objects you bring to use and share with other participants, such as broken toys, dinnerware, and costume jewelry. Ages 6 and up.

for families

Sunday, November 24, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Abstract Metallic LA Blacksmith showcases African American artists who work with metal. Examine their works and learn about the ancient art of blacksmithing, then make a stunning metallic work of art. No fire, anvils, or heavy hammers needed—just bring your imagination! Ages 6 and up.

The California African American Museum welcomes children of all ages, and we present a wide range of interactive programs designed especially for families. From arts and crafts workshops to dance classes and storytelling, come explore art, culture, and history together at CAAM! All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change. Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs. RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Sunday, September 8, 2019 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Between the Lines Storytime Gather to hear the story Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery, then create your own work of art inspired by Ernie Barnes. Sunday, September 8, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Artistic Trading Cards Design and make a unique set of trading cards like the ones on display in the Ernie Barnes retrospective that show him as a Denver Broncos team member. Highlight the strengths and special things about friends and people you admire.

Saturday, September 28, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Retro T for Me Bring back the ’90s and splash a cool T-shirt with the hues of the original Cross Colours clothing line. Create a design or a crest that celebrates your family. Bring a prewashed plain T-shirt, and we will provide the art supplies and some ’90s jams! Space is limited so RSVP on our website. Ages 6 and up. Saturday, October 5, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Four Colours Decorate a block of fabric for a scarf or patch in Cross Colours’ classic palette: red, black, green, and yellow.

Sunday, October 27, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Fractured CD Mosaic The artists exhibited in Dust My Broom often collected discarded items and gave them new life and meaning as works of art. We’ll provide the materials for you to upcycle old CDs into a fantastic piece of artistic expression. Ages 6 and up. Saturday, November 9, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Cross Colours Friendship Bracelet Using the Cross Colours signature shades of red, black, green, and yellow, design a pattern bracelet as a fabulous accessory for you and a friend.

Sunday, December 15, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. CAAM Makers Fest Let your creativity flow at this all-ages affair featuring maker stations led by local artists. Learn from the pros of our community, including Nneka Gigi, who will lead a workshop embellishing clothing with retro cartoons; J. Mack, who teaches how to create music shakers from recycled materials; and Wayne Perry, who will demonstrate how to create relief portraits. Take home several creative treasures! No prior art experience necessary; art materials provided. Saturday, December 21, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. I Live Here Purvis Young’s work Angels Watching Over the City in the exhibition Dust My Broom celebrates his community of Overtown, Florida. Make a 3D cardboard relief painting of your own neighborhood.

Photo: HRDWRKER

The mission of the California African American Museum is to research, collect, preserve, and interpret for public enrichment the history, art, and culture of African Americans, with an emphasis on California and the western United States.

visit Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection

Map

Cross Colours: Black Fashion in the 20th Century

Making Mammy Timothy Washington: Citizen/Ship

LA Blacksmith

Research Library

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 Conference Room

Admission is FREE. Hours Galleries open Tuesdays–Saturdays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sundays 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Location CAAM is located in Exposition Park, which is home to a variety of museums and attractions. Parking is $12 (cash only) at 39th and Figueroa Streets. The Metro Expo line stop Expo Park/USC is a five-minute walk through the Rose Garden to the Museum. Stay in touch with CAAM Phone: 213.744.7432 Email: info@caamuseum.org Sign up for our monthly e-news for updates on our exhibitions and public programs: caamuseum.org Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @CAAMinLA The California African American Museum is a state-supported agency and a Smithsonian Affiliate.

Photo: HRDWRKER

non profit org us postage paid permit no. 1619 los angeles ca

600 State Drive Exposition Park Los Angeles, CA 90037 caam state board of directors todd hawkins, president zna portlock houston, vice president cornelious burke terri holoman rev. cecil l. murray bari a. williams executive director, george o. davis

Cover: Harry Adams, Martin Luther King Jr. at Freedom Rally, Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, May 26, 1963 (detail). Black-and-white photograph. Front cover: Flyer from a Cross Colours press kit featuring the dance music group K.R.U.S.H., ca. 1993 (detail). Photo by Michael Segal. Courtesy the Cross Colours Archive Courtesy the Tom &Hill, Ethel Bradley Center,Masking California State Northridge; photo: HRDWRKER Back cover: Willard Untitled, 2016â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18. tape and mixed media,Below, 9 x 8 x 17 in. Collection of the California African American Museum. Gift of the artist and the Good Luck Gallery