KItchen Table Talk Steve Prince
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Rosa Sparks (detail), 2017. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist
KItchen Table Talk Steve Prince
Artist’s Statement
Growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana, I keenly remember the significance of the kitchen table in my home. As a child, I remember the succulent aromas of food and the sounds of laughter that seeped through the cracks of the doors of our home. I remember my mother and the file of family members that would come announced and unannounced through the front door, which was kept unlocked until 10:00 PM each night. My sisters, aunts, and friends of the family would laugh, sing, break bread, talk politics, religion, sports, race, and about strategies to help the community to thrive beyond the pulpit of the kitchen. The sacredness of the kitchen table spanned generations of people who understood the notion of improvisational survival and how to make a way out of no way. The magic my mother was able to conjure in that space was extraordinary, taking the discarded and making delicacies out of them. The kitchen is one of three sacred spaces in the home that everyone has access to. The bedroom and the bathroom are the two other sacred spaces. The kitchen is the site of remembering, debate, questioning, professing, blessing, and rites of passage. The images in this exhibition chronicle a series of stories and history about America, challenges us to explode the silos of kitchen tables that exist across the landscape, and invite us into a collective conversation that champions bodies of difference to be in conversation to draw us closer together as one communal body.
Steve Prince
October 2024
Kitchen Table Talk is presented as part of the artist’s multi-visit residency with his partner and collaborator Leah Glenn. This exhibition is co-sponsored by the JSMA, the UO School of Music and Dance, and the UO Art Department. It was curated by the artist with coordination by 2023-2025 Post-Graduate Museum Fellow in European and American Art, Alexis Garcia.
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Hallelujah Anyhow (detail), 2021. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist
Rosa Sparks
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Rosa Sparks, 2017. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.1
“Rosa Sparks is a commemorative piece for the bravery of Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat to a White passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955 and was then arrested for her civil disobedience. Spiritual protection girded her body like the “Armor of God” that Paul spoke of in the Book of Ephesians. In the background, picketers protest and refuse to ride the buses for over a year, forcing the system to relent and equality to be achieved. Amid that triumph, a few months prior, a 14-year-old boy named Emmitt Till from Chicago visited his cousins in Money, Mississippi and was later abducted, beaten, shot, anchored to an engine block and dropped in the Tallahatchie River. A ghost-like figure wears a hat emblazoned with the letters “ET.” Decades of grief followed with the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X and the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Fast forward, we felt the grief of mothers losing their sons with Trayvon Martin in 2012, Michael Brown in 2014, and Eric Garner in 2014, who was eerily echoed by George Floyd in 2020, saying, “I Can’t Breathe!” I believe hope is embedded in the life of a child; hence the mother teaches and trains her baby in the way of peace and preparing them to fight for justice for all.” —Steve Prince
Hallelujah Anyhow
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Hallelujah Anyhow, 2021. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.2
“The image reveals a woman carrying a house atop her head and beneath her arm, signifying the importance of us carrying the history, memory, and the spirit of our ancestors every day and the way in which we made a way out of no way to keep the beauty and brilliance of our culture alive. Reflected on the house on her head is a shadow of the I-10 bridge, which adversely affected Black and Brown communities from the East to the West coast. But still we found a way to thrive in the face of these injustices. The image becomes a charge to us to continue to carry the generations forward in search of true peace and equality anyhow.” —Steve Prince
Learn more about Hallelujah Anyhow (541)787-3003 86#
Leviticus: A Burnt Offering
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Leviticus: A Burnt Offering, 2018. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.3
“A couple lovingly sits at a table with their hands clasped in prayer as a candle flickers before them, reminding them of the fire of their passion for each other and the covering of the Holy Spirit over their union. Osram ne nsoromma is an Adinkra symbol of love, bonding, and faithfulness in marriage which adorns the wallpaper. The chair is a symbol of Sankofa, encouraging them to look back while moving forward. The oculus light hovering above the couple protects their union and lights their path forward.” —Steve Prince
Learn more about Leviticus: A Burnt Offering (541)787-3003 87#
Daniel Shango Dance
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Daniel Shango Dance, 2022. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.4
“In 1957, nine African American youth integrated Central High School amidst jeers, racial epithets, death threats, and cries for separation. The youth endured the onslaught of hate protected by the hand of God. One student has the letters “AOG” on their breastplate, alluding to the Book of Ephesians where Paul writes, “We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities and things in high places,” and he encouraged his followers to “put on the whole armor of God.” I likened the youths’ entrance into Central High to Daniel entering the lions’ den and God protecting them. Their hands are upraised doing the dance of Shango, evoking the spirit of their African roots that are kept in the American context.” —Steve Prince
Peace Table
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Peace Table, 2024. Woodcut and bronze. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.5
“The table is inscribed with four generations of community members. The youth is represented by the young man with his fist clenched signifying the history of young people occupying the front line, fighting for equality, and challenging hegemony. The young man is in conversation with the pregnant mother who delivers new life and promotes peace. The older gentleman closes his eyes and lifts his hands in prayer, representing the faith that has endured in the community, and the last figure is a woman who is the griot. The griot is the carrier of story and memory for the community, reminding us to remember to remember. A spirit emanates from each person and circulates to the center, woven together like a communal tapestry. The table encourages us to sit down, share, and listen to each other.” —Steve Prince
Ubuntu: Baldwin’s House
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Ubuntu: Baldwin’s House, 2024. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.6
“This image commemorates the one hundred year anniversary of James Baldwin and his contributions to the preservation of individuality and difference, and growth of community. Circulating his head is a square halo, which in the early Christian church represented a person who was on their way to sainthood; it also symbolically represents the earth. The rooms of the apartment complex hold various individuals: the woman reading stands for the land, the man with fist upraised is air, the woman with the blood-stained clothes on the line represents the work for peace, the couple embracing stands for life-giving water, the woman with hand lifted in prayer represents fire, and the couple below in conversation remind us of the genocide in Rwanda that took place from April 7 to July 19, 1994. Following the genocide, the people have diligently worked for reconciliation collectively facing the harsh past.” Ubuntu means “I am because we are.” —Steve Prince
Learn more about Ubuntu: Baldwin’s House (541)787-3003 90#
Wash Me: Renewal
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Wash Me: Renewal, 2024. Conte Crayon on paper. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.7
“Wash Me: Renewal commemorates the washerwoman labor strike of 1881 in Atlanta, Georgia. A woman symbolically washes the stains in the American flag as another woman central to the composition stands with her hands outstretched, anchoring the community. Below, a “mothership” carries cargo from Africa and the woman above becomes the foundation of the community. The mother and child are locked in a posture of protection and nurturance as bluesmen play a song of renewal and survival. The image calls upon a spiritual cleansing of our nation and beckons us to come to the kitchen table to talk, learn, and evolve.” —Steve Prince
Learn more about
The Look
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). The Look, 2020. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.8
“Four generations of young men get their hair cut at the barber shop, which is a traditional space of rites of passage. Adorning the walls are signifiers of history: Black Lives Matter, Ali, Malcolm X, Barack Obama, MLK, Run-DMC, Good Times TV show, Foxy Brown, and Prince. The name of the barber shop is “You Got the Look,” which is a nod to the life and contributions of Prince. A woman walking by with her daughter catches the gaze of a young man inside, amplifying that the reason he is in the shop is to get “the look.” The chessboard has a few unusual players on the board. One stands for Trayvon Martin and the other Michael Brown, and both remind us of the fact that if we make the wrong move in this life, then it is game over. The barber shop is an extension of the space of the kitchen table designed for men to fortify, encourage, and uplift one another to be outstanding citizens.” —Steve Prince
Ezra: Reparations Groove
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Ezra: Reparations Groove, 2017. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.9
“A couple sits while listening to a jazz band at the iconic Preservation Hall jazz club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bottle of wine resting upon the table signifies Christ’s first miracle. Adorning the walls are several jazz greats such as, Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, Rebirth Jazz Band, Ellis Marsalis, Kidd Jordan, Congo Square, and Kermit Ruffins. The checkered floor is a symbol of the crossroads that encourages us to redress race, representation, and reparations for the descendants of the enslaved in our nation.” —Steve Prince
Learn more about Ezra: Reparations Groove (541)787-3003 93#
Blue Notes
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Blue Notes, 2020. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.10
“President Obama was asked about the African American experience and he allegedly responded it was like a jazz song with a lot of blue notes. The jazz band plays in syncopated tune as the musician sings the song of our journey from the fields to the highest office in the land. The house atop the piano reminds us of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, where every home was marked with an “X” that noted if people and animals were present. The field workers at the feet of the band remind us that the foundation of America was built upon the backs of Blacks, as well as the brilliant creativity and imagination that has bubbled from the community for centuries.” —Steve Prince
Prayer Watch for the Children
—Steve Prince
True Vine
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). True Vine, 2021. Woodcut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.12
“A brother spins records on the wheels-of-steel, taking the sound from the 1940’s song, Vine Street Rag (Drag), and recycle it to make a new song. The crate below the table has the album “Honey” by the Ohio Players, symbolically alluding to the medicinal usages of honey throughout history. The floorboards hold the skeletal remains of the Transatlantic Slave Trade as one board lifts signifying the “True Vine,” which is Christ. A couple dances atop a globe with the continent of Africa on the right and North and South America on the left. The man and woman dance in call and response and he wields a handkerchief which symbolizes the Holy Spirit in New Orleans. The couple dancing in the back of the composition has protest signs growing from their hands. The signs are devoid of words because to move is to protest, resist, and be a symbol of the true vine.“
—Steve Prince
Blues-Gown: Jubilee
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Blues-Gown: Jubilee, 2024. Linoleum Cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.13
“The For My People Suite pays homage to Margaret Walker’s seminal poem. A woman walks with a house in-tow emblazoned with the word Jubilee. Jubilee signifies a celebration every 50 years. The image is a prayerful call for restoration in our community and the sharing of truth at our collective kitchen table.” —Steve Prince
Learn more about Blues-Gown: Jubilee (541)787-3003 97#
Rampart
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Rampart, 2024. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.14
“ The For My People Suite pays homage to Margaret Walker’s seminal poem. A woman walks with a boombox house while toting a trumpet down Rampart Street in New Orleans. Rampart is a fortification, a barrier of protection.” —Steve Prince
Sewing, Mending
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Sewing, Mending, 2024. Linoleum cut . Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.15
“The For My People Suite pays homage to Margaret Walker’s seminal poem. A woman carries a house at her womb with an understanding that we must work diligently in our community to sew and to mend the issues that cause division and erosion of the foundation of our community.” —Steve Prince
Laugh, Dance, Sing
Steve Prince (b. 1968, American). Laugh, Dance, Sing, 2024. Linoleum cut. Courtesy of the artist; L2024:75.16
“The For My People Suite pays homage to Margaret Walker’s seminal poem. Laughing, dancing, and singing have been the balm of healing for our community in the harshest of times and a reminder that we come from a glorious, brilliant, proud, and sturdy foundation.” —Steve Prince
The only academic art museum in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) features engaging exhibitions, significant collections of historic and contemporary art, and exciting educational programs that support the university’s academic mission and the diverse interests of its off-campus communities. The JSMA’s collections galleries present selections from its extensive holdings of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and American art. Special exhibitions galleries display works from the collection and on loan, representing many cultures of the world, past and present. The JSMA continues a long tradition of bridging international cultures and offers a welcoming destination for discovery and education centered on artistic expression that deepens the appreciation and understanding of the human condition.
About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art