here & now California African American Museum Fall 2016
welcome.
Fall marks the beginning of many new things at the California African American Museum, and we are eager to share them with you. Our galleries feature a slate of exciting new exhibitions that examine a wide range of subjects and genres, from the dynamic works of contemporary artists in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States to the intriguing history of the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Nazi Germany and the stellar African American athletes who competed there. You may also notice a fresh look gracing our building and even the publication you hold in your hands: Here + Now is our new calendar and newsletter, which replaces Museum Notes. Please read on to learn what’s in store this fall at CAAM, and mark your calendar to join us at our highly anticipated fall opening celebration on Wednesday, October 19 (see page 12 for details). We look forward to seeing you soon!
4 exhibitions | 12 public programs | 14 for families | 16 visit 2
Photo: Julia Luke
3
exhibitions The Ease of Fiction October 19, 2016 – February 19, 2017 In The Ease of Fiction, works by four contemporary African artists living in the United States serve as a foundation for a critical discussion about history, fact, and fiction. Recent paintings, drawings, and sculptural works by ruby onyinyechi amanze (b. 1982, Nigeria), Sherin Guirguis (b. 1974, Egypt), Meleko Mokgosi (b. 1981, Botswana), and Duhirwe Rushemeza (b. 1977, Rwanda) explore power, memory, personal agency, and play. The exhibition’s title evokes the idea that people are often more comfortable accepting or believing what is told to them by those in power, rather than challenging and investigating the authenticity of information presented as historical fact. Interweaving their personal experiences and memories into broader historical contexts, these artists create works that are in strident opposition to passive acceptance. The artists’ cultural backgrounds and geographic diversity offer a provocative examination of varied perspectives of the truth. Although these artists are from four different African countries, their work addresses universal issues that are relevant across all borders. This exhibition is organized by the Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh | CAM Raleigh and curated by independent curator Dexter Wimberly. CAAM’s presentation is organized by Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager. The Ease of Fiction is made possible by generous support from AV Metro, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Citrix, and The Betty Eichenberger Adams Society. CAM Raleigh is funded in part by the City of Raleigh based on recommendations of the Raleigh Art Commission.
4
ruby onyinyechi amanze, Kindred, 2014. Graphite, ink, pigment, enamel, photo transfers, and glitter on paper, 80 x 78 in. Photo courtesy the artist and Tiwani Contemporary, London
5
exhibitions Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936 October 19, 2016 – February 26, 2017 For two weeks in August 1936, Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship masked its racist, militarist character while hosting the Olympic Games. To divert attention from its anti-Semitic agenda and plans for territorial expansion, the regime exploited the Games to dazzle spectators with a false image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany. Prior to the Games a controversial proposed boycott was hotly debated due to the racial discrimination of the Nazi regime. Once the International Olympic Committee quelled concerns about the safety of black athletes in Nazi Germany, most African American newspapers opposed a boycott. Many pundits underscored the hypocrisy of pro-boycotters who did not first address discrimination against black athletes here at home. In the end, eighteen African American athletes, including Jesse Owens, Mack Robinson, and Ralph Metcalfe, competed for the United States at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936 features historic photographs and documents, riveting films, Olympics promotional materials, and first-person accounts. Together they tell the stories of athletes who were barred because of their ethnic heritage, those who boycotted the Games in protest, and the African Americans who competed and won a total of fourteen medals, refuting the Nazi myth of “Aryan” supremacy. The exhibition, organized by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, is presented in Los Angeles for the first time and features a number of key additions, including one of the gold medals Jesse Owens earned during the 1936 Games. Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936 is produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, presented by the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, and sponsored by the Foundation for Global Sports Development.
6
American Olympic athlete Jesse Owens runs his historic 200-meter race at the 11th Olympiad in Berlin. Owens won the race with a time of 20.7 seconds, establishing a new Olympic record. Courtesy the Library of Congress
7
exhibitions Genevieve Gaignard: Smell the Roses October 19, 2016 – February 19, 2017 CAAM presents the first museum exhibition of the work of Los Angeles artist Genevieve Gaignard, who deftly uses installation, photographic self-portraiture, and sculpture to explore the various intersections of race, femininity, and class. The daughter of a black father and white mother in a Massachusetts mill town, Gaignard grew up contending with a strong sense of invisibility. Was her family white enough to be white? Black enough to be black? In this new immersive installation she invokes post-Katrina New Orleans shotgun houses and white picket fences to address questions of “passing,” positioning her own female body as the chief site of exploration and challenging viewers to navigate the powers and anxieties of intersectional identity. Influenced by the soulful sounds of Billy Stewart, the kitschy aesthetic of John Waters, and the provocative artifice of drag culture, Gaignard employs lowbrow pop sensibilities to create dynamic visual narratives. From the performed identities ritualized in ‘‘selfie” culture to the gender displays of hyper-femme footwear, Gaignard blends humor, persona, and popular culture to reveal the ways in which the clash of contrasting realities can lead to feelings of displacement. This exhibition is curated by Naima J. Keith, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Programs.
Genevieve Gaignard, Compton Contrapposto, 2016. Chromogenic print, 32 x 48 in. Courtesy the artist and Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles
8
9
exhibitions
Taking Place: Selections from the Permanent Collection October 19, 2016 – February 26, 2017 For centuries artists have rendered landscapes—both real and imagined—to consider issues such as history, belonging, and disenfranchisement. Landscapes can bear witness to stories from the past and offer powerful lessons in the present. Taking Place: Selections from the Permanent Collection includes photographs and paintings that depict urban scenes, rural landscapes, and visions of the African diaspora, all of which speak to notions of history and home among African Americans. Richard Mayhew’s abstract paintings epitomize love and respect for the land, while works by Frank Williams and Dewey Crumpler celebrate its sheer beauty and spiritual connotations. Nineteenth-century landscapes by Robert Duncanson and Edward Mitchell Bannister assert the artists’ existence and claim ownership for future generations. The California landscape in particular is reflected in breathtaking photographs of the town of Allensworth taken by various artists, and unexpected stories of Los Angeles appear in the works of Dominique Moody and Sadie Barnette.
Hank Willis Thomas: Black Righteous Space July 7, 2016 – February 19, 2017
This exhibition is curated by Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager.
In his interactive video Black Righteous Space, artist Hank Willis Thomas examines race through the lens of pop culture, advertising, and media. Dazzling motion graphics appear amidst a looping soundtrack that includes songs, speeches, and dialogue from more than fifty noted black figures including Malcolm X, James Baldwin, Richard Pryor, and Gil-Scott Heron. At random intervals the soundtrack goes silent, allowing visitors to approach a microphone and add their own voices to the conversation. This presentation is the California premiere of Black Righteous Space and is organized by Naima J. Keith, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Programs. The work is loaned from The Studio Museum Harlem. 10
Hank Willis Thomas, Black Righteous Space (installation view), 2012. Interactive video installation, DVD (playlist and video installation), Mac mini, and microphone, 60 min. © Hank Willis Thomas/Courtesy the artist and The Studio Museum Harlem
Edward Mitchell Bannister, Landscape Scene (detail), 1900. Oil on canvas, 30 x 42 in. Gift of Richard F. Connally Jr.
11
can’t stop won’t stop!
Celebrating the openings of: The Ease of Fiction October 19, 2016 – February 19, 2017 Genevieve Gaignard: Smell the Roses October 19, 2016 – February 19, 2017 Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936 October 19, 2016 – February 26, 2017 Hank Willis Thomas: Black Righteous Space On view through February 19, 2017 Taking Place: Selections from the Permanent Collection October 19, 2016 – February 26, 2017 This fall, CAAM welcomes to its galleries several new exhibitions that consider a range of subjects, from works by contemporary artists in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States to the intriguing history of the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany and the African American athletes who competed there. Also on view is the Los Angeles debut of Hank Willis Thomas’s celebrated video, Black Righteous Space, and the latest installment of the Museum’s selections from the permanent collection.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Opening Celebration Come one come all! DJ Rashida Joi DJ Lynnee Denise Good art, people & food FREE RSVP by October 14: rsvp@caamuseum.org
Photo: DJ Rashida
12
13
public programs Thursday, October 20, 2016 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. In Conversation: The Ease of Fiction Location: Art + Practice, 4339 S. Leimert Blvd., Los Angeles
This special edition of In Conversation takes place at Art + Practice in Leimert Park and brings together artists ruby onyinyechi amanze, Sherin Guirguis, Meleko Mokgosi, and Duhirwe Rushemeza with exhibition curator Dexter Wimberly on the occasion of the opening of The Ease of Fiction. Through a conversation about the exhibition’s themes and the artists’ works the panelists will uncover shared trajectories among their diverse practices. Sunday October 23, 2016 | 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. In Conversation: Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936 Hear from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum curator Susan Bachrach, International Olympic Committee leader and Olympian Anita DeFrantz, and Olympian Mark Spitz in a presentation that provides a historical context for the politically charged 1936 Olympic games. This program is moderated by Christopher D. West, professor of history, Pasadena City College. Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. In Conversation: Mark Bradford and Naima J. Keith Acclaimed artist Mark Bradford works in painting, video, installation, and sculpture to address issues of race, gender, and class in American society. Bradford also maintains a social practice, anchored by his Los Angeles-based nonprofit, Art + Practice, in the community of Leimert Park. In April 2016, Bradford was chosen as the United States
representative to the next Venice Biennale, opening in 2017. On the occasion of this momentous announcement, join the artist and Naima J. Keith, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Programs, for a conversation about his plans for Venice, the roles of artists in cultural development, and the ways in which collaboration can act as a catalyst for positive change. Thursday, November 3, 2016 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. In Conversation: Genevieve Gaignard and Uri McMillan Presented in conjunction with Genevieve Gaignard: Smell the Roses, this program begins with an in-depth walkthrough of the exhibition followed by an artist talk and audience Q&A. Gaignard is joined by Uri McMillan, associate professor of African American Studies at UCLA, to discuss the artist’s practice, focusing on her deeply engaging work with character performance, self-portraiture, and sculpture.
Thursday, November 17, 2016 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. In the Artist’s Voice Tour Taking Place: Selections from the Permanent Collection with curator Mar Hollingsworth and artists Dominique Moody, Rosalyn Myles, and Rick Russell, whose works are featured in the exhibition. Saturday November 19, 2016 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Film Screening: Olympic Pride, American Prejudice Location: Frank Sinatra Hall at the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex (NCT), USC
In conjunction with the exhibition Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936, see the film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, which explores the experiences of the eighteen African American Olympians who defied Jim Crow and Adolf Hitler to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with writer and director Deborah Riley Draper and special guests. Co-sponsored with the USC School of Cinematic Arts
14
Thursday, December 1, 2016 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. In Conversation: Sherin Guirguis and Anuradha Vikram Join Los Angeles-based artist Sherin Guirguis and curator-writer Anuradha Vikram for a conversation exploring how issues of social structures can be addressed through abstraction. Guirguis’s work in The Ease of Fiction combines traditional Middle Eastern sacred geometry with Western abstract and minimalist languages. Vikram is artistic director at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica and senior lecturer in the Graduate Public Practice program at Otis College of Art and Design. Thursday December 8, 2016 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Film Screening: Munich ‘72 and Beyond Location: TBD
The exhibition Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936 presents but one moment in the complicated story of race, politics, and violence
during the Olympic Games. On September 5, 1972, Palestinian extremists infiltrated the athletes’ dorms at the Munich Olympics to take eleven Israeli athletes hostage, eventually murdering them all before being killed or captured by German police. Munich ’72 and Beyond exposes shocking new information about the tragic events and their devastating aftermath, and chronicles the four-decade struggle to create a public memorial to the victims of the massacre. A discussion of this short film will be led by Joshua Holo, Dean of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, and will include the film’s producers, Steven Ungerleider and David Ulich. 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
15
for families Let your creativity soar at the California African American Museum! Explore a wide range of interactive programs designed for families with children of all ages. From arts and crafts workshops to dance classes and storytelling, families can discover the world of art together.
Thursday, November 3, 2016 | 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Thursday, December 1, 2016 | 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Stroller Tours Babies are welcome! In fact, you need a baby in tow if you want to join this group. Join us for casual and lively discussions in the galleries led by museum educators—just for parents-caregivers and their pre-toddler-age children (18 months and younger). Expect a special kind of outing that allows for adult conversation, but where no one minds if a baby lends his or her opinion with a coo or a cry! Tours are limited to ten adults with children and meet at the information desk. No RSVP needed. Tuesday, November 8, 2016 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 13, 2016 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. CAAM: After School At these free, drop-in after-school art workshops, children ages 5–12 and their adult companions participate in shared learning experiences that take them into our galleries and art studios. From building monsters to designing city blocks to making puppets, CAAM: After School gives young people the opportunity to explore CAAM’s exhibitions and express their creativity, all after the school day ends. No RSVP needed.
16
Sunday, October 23, 2016 2:00 p.m. First Place! The exhibition Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936 highlights the achievements of various athletes during the 1936 Olympic games, including medal winners Jesse Owens and Mack Robinson. Make your own Olympic medal to celebrate an achievement. All supplies provided. Ages 5 and up. RSVP 213.744.2024.
Saturday, November 19, 2016 2:00 p.m. African Tales Storytelling preserves our history, traditions, and ideas and brings them to life. Inspired by The Ease of Fiction, bring your family to hear wonderful folk tales from Nigeria, Botswana, Egypt, and Rwanda told by master storyteller Michael D. McCarty. RSVP 213.744.2024.
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.
Saturday, December 3, 2016 2:00 p.m. Family Craft Workshop Decorate and personalize a book bag to keep or give as a gift. We provide the bag and craft supplies; you provide the creativity! RSVP 213.744.2024.
RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org
Photo: Christopher Futcher
17
visit The Ease of Fiction
Map Politics, Race, and Propaganda
Genevieve Gaignard Hank Willis Thomas
Permanent Collection
i
Research Library
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.
18
Photo: Julia Luke
19
California African American Museum Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum 600 State Drive Exposition Park Los Angeles, CA 90037
NON PROFIT ORG US Postage Paid Permit No. 1619 Los Angeles CA
caam state board of directors todd hawkins, president zna portlock houston, vice president cornelious burke victor griego terri holoman rev. cecil l. murray bari a. williams
Hank Willis Thomas, Black Righteous Space (installation view), 2012. Interactive video installation, DVD (playlist and video installation), Mac mini, and microphone, 60 min. Š Hank Willis Thomas/Courtesy the artist and The Studio Museum Harlem