Studio Magazine Fall/Winter 2005-06

The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine / Fall Winter 200506
COLLECTORS ISSUE
From the Director

wide variety of media. However, I do believe that Frequency is a snapshot of the current moment we live in, and just as Freestyle ushered in a new generation of artists, I believe we are about to become acquainted with some of the most exciting new voices in contemporary art. It is with great pride that I also congratulate artist Julie Mehretu on her being awarded a MacArthur genius grant this past September. Julie has a long, rich history with the Studio Museum as an Artist-in-Residence (2000-2001) and as a part of 2001s Freestyle. I am thrilled that the MacArthur Foundation recognized the talents of an important artist such as Julie Mehretu.
SMH Board of Trustees

Raymond J. McGuire Chairman Carol Sutton Lewis Vice-Chair Reginald Van Lee Treasurer Gayle Perkins Atkins Kathryn C. Chenault Paula R. Collins Gordon J. Davis Anne B. Ehrenkranz Susan Fales-Hill Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Sandra Grymes Joyce Haupt Arthur J. Humphrey,Jr. George L. Knox Nancy L. Lane Dr. Michael L. Lomax Tracy Maitland Rodney M. Miller Eileen Harris Norton Corine Pettey David A. Ross Charles A. Shorter, Jr. Ann Tenenbaum John T. Thompson Michael Winston Karen A. Phillips ex-ofcio Hon. Kate D. Levin ex-ofcio
When it comes to art, never say never. After the tremendous success of Freestyle in 2001, I had both privately and publicly acknowledged that there might no longer be a need for me to organize group shows featuring the works of emerging black artists. At the time, I argued that what the Studio Museum needed most was original ideas that differ from everything we had done before. While I still feel the need to express our museums mission in as many innovative ways as possible, I continued to see so much incredible artwork that I couldnt resist the opportunity to present a group show that highlighted the best new artists I could nd. Along with Christine Y. Kim, the Studio Museums Associate Curator, I am happy that I changed my mind as we present Frequency, a new show that continues the Studio Museums support of young talent.
I want to thank all of the supporters of the Frequency exhibition for their unwavering support and their considerable generosity: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Peter Norton Family Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and David Teiger. This has been a momentous year for our Artists-in-Residence, both past and present. Kehinde Wiley (2001-2002) recently produced all of the artwork for the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, a ceremony honoring the great talents of the hip-hop
The 2005-2006 Artists-in-Residence have a lot to live up to, but Im sure that their work will exceed our greatest expectations. I am thrilled to introduce Rashawn Grifn, Clifford Owens and Karyn Olivier to our program and supporters. Please keep an eye out for these great talents around the museum.
Studio
Ali Evans Editor-in-chief Samir S. Patel Copy editor Rujeko Hockley Jared Rowell Editorial Assistants Original Design Concept 2x4, New York Art Direction and Design Map, New York Printing Cosmos Communications, Inc.
Studio is published three times a year by The Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 West 125th St., New York, NY 10027. Copyright 2005 Studio Magazine. All material is compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but published without responsibility for errors or omissions. Studio assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. All rights, including translation into other languages, reserved by the publisher. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. Please email comments to pr@studiomuseum.org. Thelmas photo: Timothy Greeneld-Sanders Julie Mehretu: Jerry L. Thompson Kehinde Wiley: Biggie Smalls / 2005 courtesy of Deitch Projects and Kehinde Wiley Studios Cover image: Jeff Sonhouse / Inauguration of the Solicitor / 2005 / Collection of David Beitzel, New York Hank Willis Thomas
Frequency should not be misconstrued as Freestyle II ; it is not a reprise, nor is it a continuation of the themes that the Freestyle artists explored in 2001. These are different artists exploring a range of ideas in a
Operation of the Studio Museum in Harlem is supported with public funds provided by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Major funding is also provided by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and The Carnegie Corporation of New York, with additional support from The New York Times Company Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, LEF Foundation, The Scherman Foundation, Inc.,
community, including LL Cool J, Salt-n-Pepa and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. If you have seen reproductions of these paintings on billboards and in subway stations around New York City, you can attest to their breathtaking beauty and originality. Kehindes work is always thought-provoking and I truly look forward to what he comes up with next.
gifts in memory of Joyce Wein, estate of Irene Wheeler; Goldman, Sachs & Co., American Express Company; Clifford L. Alexander, Altria Group Inc.,Bank of America, The Cowles Charitable Trust, Credit Suisse First Boston, New York Stock Exchange Foundation, Pzer, Inc., The Norman and Rosita Winston Foundation, Inc., Lord & Taylor, Pierre and MariaGaetana Matisse Foundation, The Moodys Foundation, Morgan Stanley Foundation and The Young & Rubicam Foundation.
And nally, I would like to take a moment to remember the wonderful legacy of Joyce Wein, a member of the Studio Museums Board of Trustees for the past 11 years. (See page 40 for a beautiful remembrance of a truly wonderful woman.) She will be sorely missed here at the Studio Museum. See you around and denitely uptown ...
The Studio Museum in Harlem is proud to be a cultural arts partner of WNYC, New York Public Radio.
Liberation of T.O.: Aint no way Im gon in back tawork famassa in dat darn eld 2004 Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY
The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine / Fall Winter 200506
02 / whats up Frequency / Harlem Postcards 14 / upcoming exhibitions Energy
/ Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction, 1964 1980 / Africa Comics 16 / artists-in-residence 19 / elsewhere Sam Gilliam / Yinka Shonibare / Snap Judgements / Edgar Arceneaux / Thornton Dial / Faith Ringgold / Slavery in NY / Malcom X / Margaret Garner 22 / feature A Portrait of the Artist 34 / The Frequency of Black Art Shows 36 / catalogue excerpt 37 / feature Joyce Wein 38 / artist commission Mark Bradford Willard Brown 40 / icon Gordon Parks 42 / feature wePod 47 / prole More in Store 48 / 3 questions Robin Rhode 49 / collection on loan 50 / prole Kadir Nelson 51 / coloring page 52 / education 53 / public programs 54 / artist abroad Camille Norment 55 / harlem where were at 60 / museum store 62 / ask a security ofcer
Xiomara De Oliver Allegory of Some Bombshell Girls-only in amingo grass, (detail), 2005 courtesy of the artist and Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
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Frequency: November 9, 2005 March12, 2006

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Frequency is a survey of new work by 35 emerging artists. Living and working in the United States and ranging in age from 25 to 46, these artists work in all media. Their inuences vary from folktales to hiphop, from non-western aesthetics to abstract painting, and from tattoo design to album covers. With more than 85 works in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video, digital animation and mixed media, Frequency exemplies the non-thematic, non-linear climate of contemporary art today.
The Studio Museums groundbreaking exhibition Freestyle (2001) identied a group of young artists who emerged as the next generation of indicators and pacesetters. Freestyle had an immense impact on the understanding of contemporary black art and this Museums relationship to it. It brought into the public consciousness the concept of post-black, a term coined by Studio Museum Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden. This curatorial concept identied a generation of black artists who felt free to abandon or confront the label of black artist, preferring to be understood as individuals with complex investigations of blackness in their work. Post-black art became a stance in the quest to dene ongoing changes in African-American art, and ultimately became part of the perpetual redenition of blackness in contemporary culture. This widely debated idea took on a life of its own in the public realm, not only in art, but also in popular culture and cultural studies. Nearly ve years later, Frequency (commonly mistaken as Freestyle II ) continues this tradition with a new group of artists. Co-curated by Thelma Golden and Christine Y. Kim, Associate Curator, there are no prevailing themes in this exhibition, except perhaps an overwhelming sense of individuality. As its title suggests, Frequency pinpoints and assimilates divergent sounds, situations and phenomena. The uses of imagery and materials in this exhibition are wide-ranging and experimental: rhinestones, sand, matches, cowrie shells, handmade set designs, appropriated sports footage, family snapshots, found objects from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and black contemporary and historical icons such as Harriet Tubman, Paul Robeson, John Coltrane and Terrell Owens. In each work, aspects of American culture are re-imagined and rened for new purposes. Since opening in 1968, the Museum has played a catalytic role in its support and presentation of diverse works by established and emerging black artists. Frequency continues the Studio Museums role as a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society. Frequency is funded in part by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Peter Norton Family Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and David Teiger.
01 / Demetrius
Oliver
Till Courtesy of Inman Gallery, Houston, TX 2003/2005 02 / Rodney

McMillian
03 / Zo Charlton Blow (Undercover Series) 2005 04 / Wardell Milan Burning Giraffe: Love pt. 4 Courtesy of the artist and Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY 2005
chair Collection of Gaby and Wilhelm Schuermann, Aachen, Germany 2003 04
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Love Nuggets Courtesy of the artist and Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2004 02 / Robert A.
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Visani
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CEO Portrait (Talented 10th Series) Collection of David Alan Grier, Los Angeles, CA 2004
Corner Cutters 2005
Branded Head Collection of The Studio Museum in Harlem. Museum purchase made possible by a Gift from Anne Ehrenkranz, New York. 2003-05 07 / Jeff Sonhouse Inauguration of the Solicitor Collection of David Beitzel, New York 2005
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06 / Xaviera High Seasoned Brown 2004 07 / Jefferson Invisible Man (video still) 2005 08 / Kalup Linzy Conversations wit de Churen III: da Young and da Mess (video still) 2005 09 / Shinique Amie Smith
Pinder Simmons
02 / Sedrick E. A Love Supreme 2003 03 / Rashawn Untitled (portrait) 2002-03 04 / Nick Cave Sound Suit Courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY 2004 05 / Jonathan Scratching Chance (video still) Courtesy of Caren Golden Fine Art, New York, NY 2005
Calm Grifn Huckaby
Bale Variant No. 0006 2005 10 / Lester Julian Meredith 2005

Merriweather
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The Centaurs Kiss 2005 02 / Mickalene

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Dirrrty Harriet Tubman (video still) 2005 06 / Isaac Diggs Bling #2 2002 07 / Nyame O.
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Instant Gratication (Brawling Spitre Series) 2005 03 / Jina Valentine Appetite for Destruction: Top 40 Best Selling Albums Ever 2005 04 / Marc Andr
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Battle for the break of dawn...it goes on, an on, an on, an on... 2005 08 / Karyn Olivier Doubles Courtesy of the artist and Dunn & Brown Contemporary Dallas, TX 2005
Untitled (Crusade Fragments) (1 of 9) 2005
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Eta: A Proverb by my Mother (detail) 2005 02 / Paula Wilson Turf (detail) 2005 03 / Mike Cloud Untitled 2 (African Ceremonies: Volume I and II) Courtesy of the artist and Max Protetch Gallery, New York, NY 2005
04 / Kianga Ford Urban Revival 2005 05 / Michael

Queenland
Flight of Shelves 2005 06 / Adam

Pendleton
History 2005 Courtesy of the artist and Yvon Lambert, New York and Paris 05 06
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Harlem Postcards
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FallWinter 200506
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Louis Cameron
Born 1973, Columbus, O.H. Lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Rashid Johnson
Born 1977, Chicago, I.L. Lives and works in New York, N.Y.
Adia Millett
Born 1975, Los Angeles, C.A. Lives and works in New York, N.Y.
Nadine Robinson
Born 1968, London, England Lives and works in Bronx, N.Y.
One of the qualities of photography I like most is its ability to depict a specic moment in time, frozen, available for future generations to witness and explore. This is a quality that I cherish in the photographs of James VanDerZee. His pictures of Harlem give us a window into the past and let us see the people and places that have shaped what Harlem is today. As a result, my Harlem Postcard project is a response to the photographs of VanDerZee. I have set out to rephotograph places in Harlem that VanDerZee had photographed in the past. Many of the places do not exist anymore. However, there are a few that do and have not changed much, such as The Abyssinian Baptist Church and VanDerZees old studio on Lenox Avenue, around the corner from The Studio Museum in Harlem. Yet the photograph that I chose for the postcard is a restaging of VanDerZees The Hotel Theresa, 1933. I am primarily interested in the hotel as a link between the past and present. I am also interested in the difference in the structure between the two periods. In the original photograph the focus is Theresa Bar & Grill and Theresa Tap Room on the ground oor of the hotel, an elegantlooking establishment that appears to have catered to the guest. In the same spot today, there are Churchs Chicken and White Castle, fast food restaurants that cater to the thriving pedestrian trafc of 125th Street. The difference in these photographs illustrates the shift in business interest in the Harlem community. In the end, my photograph becomes yet another moment in the history of this building and the Harlem community.
As a young artist, I was rst introduced to the streets of Harlem through the lens of the photographer Roy DeCarava. His inuence, without question, helped mold the conceptual strategy that I employ today. When I made this image, I felt it was a chance to document my rst Harlem image-making experience. There is nothing more genuine than proving that you are actually in a space. I think of this photograph as an homage, a chance to visit the home of one of my heroes.
As artists we often have a tendency to allow every moment, sound, image and even taste to become metaphors for the experiences and people in our lives. This familiar scene of a pigeon eating fried chicken on 132nd Street, in its absurdly simple way, captured more than words can say. You used to be my lover. The eastern American coastal pigeon will never hesitate to get up in your face; will eat out of the palm of your hand, but only for a little while; and will devour his distant cousin ... if deep fried.
National Geographic magazine, a prominent journal of photographic essays, has done many projects documenting the cultural and physical changes in Harlem from its Renaissance to its recent neo-renaissance, and for the last couple of years theres been interest in its cache as a land and property. I hope they havent forgotten about its people. Before I met Barry on the corner of 126th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, I had been placing my large fake gold nuggets all over Harlem for a few days. My goal was to go shingthe nuggets would function as shiny bait for people to interact with and touch, and as luck would have it, Barry was the only one who actually picked them up and offered his person for my photographic project. He was interested in the idea of oversized gold nuggets and delighted when I said that gold prospecting and mining still go on in parts of Alaska, Australia and even North Carolina. Barry wanted to buy more gold jewelry and thought of all the new pieces he could add to his meager collection of a gold cross, ring and chapereta watch ... all obviously fake ... Barry held on to his new collection of gold and I gave my nd of large nuggets to him for sharing his time and body with me ... Barry, the human gold detector ...
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The Hotel Theresa (after James VanDerZee) 2005
the coolest nigga you never did see 2005
03 / Adia Millett You used to be my lover 2005
04 / Nadine
Robinson
Gold Crush (Barry in West Harlem) 2005
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upcoming exhibitions
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Energy / Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction, 1964-1980 April 5July 2, 2006
Africa Comics November 8, 2006 March 18, 2007
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02 01 / William T. Williams Trane 1969 Collection of The Studio Museum in Harlem Gift of Charles Cowles 02 / Melvin Edwards Cotton Hangup 1966 Collection of The Studio Museum in Harlem Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hans Burkhardt Asimba Bathy (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Kinshasa non completa
In the Spring of 2006, The Studio Museum in Harlem will present Energy/Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction, 1964-1980, a group exhibition guest-curated by Dr. Kellie Jones.
Energy/Experimentation explores the strong voice of abstract art-making that developed during the second half of the 20th century. Working in both painting and sculpture, this group of artists committed themselves to innovation in structure and materials. While the guration of the 1960s and 1970s is well known through the works of Romare Bearden, Betye Saar or artists connected with the Black Arts Movement (the focus of the groundbreaking SMH show Tradition and Conict in 1985), less explored abstractionists, such as Sam Gilliam, William T. Williams, Al Loving, Joe Overstreet and Howardena Pindell, were steadfast in their use of non-objective visual language. Energy/Experimentation will present the painting and sculpture of 15 artists whose work challenged artistic, technical and social boundaries and assumptions during this period.
The Studio Museum in Harlem, in conjunction with Africa e Mediterraneo (Bologna, Italy), will present the rst exhibition of African comic art in the United States.
Africa e Mediterraneo, a non-prot cooperative, was created in 1997 to foster intercultural education between Italy and Africa, and developed the rst serious contemporary investigation of comic art in Africa today. With narrative, engaging humor, social awareness, history and myth, African comic art has achieved a wide range of recognition as both an art form and a valuable medium for cross-cultural communication. The Studio Museum in Harlem will present a selection of recent work in support of this vital art form, which is omnipresent on the African continent.
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Meet the Studio Museum Artists-in-Residence 20052006

Rashawn Grifn
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artists-in-residence
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Karyn Olivier
Born
1968, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Education
1989, BA, Psychology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. 2001, MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomeld Hills, M.I. I engage objects and spaces by means of architectural alterations and interventions. The spectator is asked to cross the threshold between the exterior and interior of the installation, foregrounding a physical and psychological response to the space. My interest is in collapsing the distinctions between architecture and sculptural objects, emphasizing instead their interdependence and coalescence. This exploration into domestic spaces converges with my interest in nostalgia. Nostalgia functions in my work through cultural references (memory-based and imagined) and through art historical references, notably minimalism.
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1980, Los Angeles, C.A.

Education
2002, BFA, Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, M.D. 2005, MFA, Yale University, New Haven, C.T. In certain ways, my artistic practice is somehow comparable to nding ways to stake a claim in territories that are not necessarily my own. With this in mind, my materials become things at hand, if not referencing my own actions. The food I eat, clothes I wear, stuff I have, these elements becoming grounding for re-interpretation of the world around.
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Clifford Owens
Born
1971, Baltimore, M.D.

Education
19911992, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, M.D. 1998, BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I.L. 2002, MFA, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. 2000 2001, Whitney Museum Independent Study Program, N.Y.
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01 / Rashawn Grifn Fig Land 2005 02 / Rashawn Grifn Self Portrait 2005 03 / Karyn Oliver Ridgewood Line (BQT Ghost No. 6064) 2004
04 / Karyn Oliver Untitled 2000/2005 05 / Clifford Owens Skowhegan: Studio Visit with Alix Pearlstein 2004 06 / Clifford Owens Tell Me What To Do With Myself 2005
If my statement read: Everything I have to say about my work can be read in the work itself, would that be an adequate artist statement? If my statement read: Everything I have to say about my work can be read in the work itself, and if the meaning of the work is still unclear, please refer to the work of another artist any artist, from anonymous cave painters to William Cordova and Karyn Olivier, would that be acceptable? After all, artist statements are less about art and more about art history, and art history is not about art, its about art history.
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elsewhere: art beyond SMH
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Completely Biased, Entirely Opinionated Hot Picks By Thelma Golden
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Sam Gilliam: A Retrospective @ Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. / October 15, 2005-January 22, 2006 / www.corcoran.org
and architecture. In the past, critics have tended either to explain Gilliams achievements as the work of a Washington Color School artist or situate his work within the connes of an African-American art tradition. To concentrate too much on either account is to miss the brilliance and scope of his remarkable career and his signicant contributions to abstraction. Gilliam will also be featured this spring in the Studio Museums Energy/Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction, 1964 1980.
This exhibition is the rst full-career retrospective of painter Sam Gilliam and is the most extensive presentation of his work to date, offering an opportunity to reassess his innovative ideas. Gilliam rst achieved widespread acclaim When artists are asked to take on museum collections, the in the late 1960s with his groundbreaking draped paint- results are often provocative and unexpected. This installings, which blur distinctions between painting, sculpture ation by Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare is no exception and provides an interesting window on the collection of the Coop-
Yinka Shonibare Selects Works from the Permanent Collection @ The Nancy and Edwin Marks Gallery, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York / October 7, 2005-May 7, 2006 / www.ndm.si.edu
er-Hewitt . Shonibare is the third guest curator in a series
in the Nancy and Edwin Marks Gallery in which outside artists, writers and critics are invited to draw from CooperHewitts permanent collection to create themed exhibitions. Shonibare has focused on modes of transportation, as exemplied by objects he has chosen relating to motion and travel and acquired by the museums founders, the Hewitt sisters.
Heres some must-see exhibitions that Im not going to miss!
Also on view is a presentation on vernacular photography from the ICP collection. Little is known about the private lives of African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their social transactions took place, for the most part, outside of public view and often away from the cameras lens. This exhibition offers a glimpse into the rarely seen everyday lives of African Americans through variety of photographic genres and poses: formal studio a 03 portraits, casual snapshots, images of children, images Snap Judgments: New Positions in of uniformed soldiers, wedding portraits and SouthContemporary African Photography ern-views made for tourist consumption. While some of the sitters were celebrities of their days, the majority and African American Vernacular are unnamed Americans posing for portraits. The images Photography: Selections from the attest to photographys ability both to record personal history for private uses and to be seen as a document of social Daniel Cowin Collection @ The International Center of Photography, New York / history. This exhibition and its catalogue explore the ICPs Daniel Cowin Collection of African American History, a December 9, 2005-February 26, 2006 / trove of over 2,000 postcards, stereographs, cartes-deviste, tintypes, albumen prints and gelatin silver prints. www.icp.org Taken together, these ephemeral images provide an imporFew curators or scholars have done more to enlarge our tant window into African-American cultural life from 1860 sense of art from the African continent than my friend Okwui to about 1930. Enwezor. Each of his exhibitions have expanded my view and my sense of the world immeasurably. Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography will be the rst major U.S. presentation to focus on photo-based artwork from the African continent since 1996. Over 200 works by 35 artists from across the African continent, the majority of whom will be exhibiting in the United States for the rst time, will be presented. The exhibition will seek to dene the nature of contemporary African art, which has emerged against a background of 05 / Unidentied 03 / Cindy and / Carol Harrison 02 / Yinka historical change. The four sections comprising Snap 01 Man on a MotorNkuli Shonibare Sam Gilliam in his cycle Lolo Veleko Figure of Eleanor Judgmentslandscape, urban formations, the body and studio, photo C Unidentied 2003 Hewitt 2005 identity, and history and representationreect important Courtesy Goodman Photographer 2005 ca.1936 Gallery, themes being addressed by African artists today. Johannesburg.
Copyright Lolo Veleko
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legacy produced by enslaved people and honors New Yorkersblack and whitewho fought to erase the peculiar institution from the city and state. Material from the Soci-
t Don ! s Mis
etys collectionledger books of slaving voyages, ads for runaway slaves, manuscript records of New Yorks rst abolition society, the rst paintings of black New Yorkers is supplemented by treasures from the British Library, the New York State Archives, Colonial Williamsburg and other great repositories.
the person known variously as Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Malcolm X and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. More signicantly, the exhibition poses questions about the nature of the developmental journey that Malcolm Little pursued to become El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. The subtitle, A Search for Truth, focuses the interpretive dimensions of the exhibition on the process and products of his driving intellectual quest for truth about himself, his family, his people, his country and his world.
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Edgar Arceneaux: The Alchemy of 03 Comedy, Stupid @ Gallery 400, Univer- Faith Ringgold: Mama can sing, Papa sity of Illinois, Chicago / March-May 2006 / can blow @ The Art Gallery at the Univerwww.ulc.edu sity of Maryland, College Park / October 5, The Alchemy of Comedy, Stupid breaks down comedy rout- 2005-December 10, 2005 / ines into non-sequential segments in order to examine how www.avtgallery.umd.edu
The exhibition highlights the renowned artists newest story Arceneauxs video, which stars actor / comedian David quilts, paintings, drawings and prints depicting jazz musicAlan Grier, who worked with his own material in front of a ians and singers. The exhibition is organized in conjunction a joke is structured, how a distinct mental process underlies what we routinely experience as an involuntary response.
Margaret Garner @ The Opera Company of Philadelphia / February 10-26, 2006 / www.operaphilly.com
As a writer, Toni Morrisons words have illuminated aspects of my life and had a profound affect on me. Margaret Garner is a theatrical adaptation of her seminal novel, Beloved. Beyond the historical signicance
live audience, will be presented in a gallery space trans- with ACA Galleries, New York. formed with echoes of the video shoot sites, as well as related works in sculpture and drawing.
and issues of law, Margaret Garner, as conceived by Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison, will speak to audiences on a purely human level. It is an opera that confronts the remembered horrors of enslavement and Civil War-era America, while also conveying the enduring resonance and irrepressible power of the human spirit. Also, I am curious and intrigued by another musical adaptation now on BroadwayThe Color Purple. I am truly looking forward to seeing how such deeply moving words on paper can be translated to the musical stage.
Check It Out !
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Thornton Dial in the 21st Century @ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston / Through January 8, 2006 / www.mfah.org
In a work by Thornton Dial, one witnesses the intense struggle of the artist to master the demanding materials he has deliberately acquired to make art . It is the visible tension
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Malcom X: A Search for Truth @ The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York / May 19, 2005December 31, 2005 / www.nypl.org/research/sc/
I hope you all have seen the amazing exhibition on view at the Schomburg, Malcom X: A Search for Truth. If you havent,
01 / Edgar
Arceneaux: The Alchemy of Comedy, Stupid
04 / Mrs. Pierre
Toussant
photographed by Grant Therkildsen 2005 02 / Ground Zero:

Nighttime All Over the World
Anthony Meucci 1920 05 / Malcolm X On

University Tour
Thornton Dial Sr. 2002
that characterizes Dials three-dimensional works. Equally Slavery in New York @ The New-York adept in the media of painting, assemblage, sculpture Historical Society, New York / October 7, and works on paper, Dial creates art that is arresting for 2005-March 5, 2006 / www.nyhistory.org its power and insight, and for its visual ights of freedom. Dials work can be, by turns, humorous, reective The New-York Historical Society presents the story of slavand challenging. ery in this great city, a story that reveals the rich cultural
it continues to be on view until December 31, 2005. The exhibition is based in part on the collection of personal and professional papers and memorabilia of Malcolm X that was rescued from auction in 2002 and placed on deposit at the Schomburg Center by the Shabazz family. Malcolm X: A Search for Truth uses the materials from this extraordinary collection and other collections from the center. These never-before-exhibited materials present a provocative and informative perspective on the life of
03 / Mama Can Sing Faith Ringgold 2004
Photography by Robert L. Haggins,Malcolm X Collection, Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library
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A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST

Its easy to become overwhelmed when faced with an entity as vast as Frequency, an exhibition containing more than 70 works of art by 35 different artists. Though united by the fact that these 35 emerging black artists are each creating some of the most exciting and compelling work of 2005, there is little else to unify them. Beyond the wide range of media represented and the diversity of age and geography, there is an even vaster range of inspirations and ideologies informing their practices and production. Each artists work stems from a different source; each is moved to create by a different impulse. To showcase this diversity of thought and practice, we asked each artist one question: What word or sentence best describes your work or art practice? Their considered individual responses and self-selected visuals follow below. Enjoy this window into the mind of the artist.
Demetrius Oliver Stacked , 2004, Courtesy of Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
Rujeko Hockley, Curatorial Assistant
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MICHAEL BRITTO
I like to think of my work as familiar and new.
ZO CHARLTON NYAME BROWN MIKE CLOUD
Drawing is my primary studio activity. The drawings have a sketched quality that signies a subconscious process of thinking ... I am intrigued by racist and sexist jokes because, like racist imagery, they pinpoint stereotypes that affect the perceived identities of individuals ... I am dealing with visual prejudices and the relationships that we have with each other.
I am trying to make African-American Allegorical Paintings, making connections to the African Diaspora to create new ways of seeing the African than through historys two dimensional stereotypes.
I make art the way I do because of the relationship I want to have with my audience.
My work combines and loops images that reect and explore the layered memories of my many neighborhoods and the multiple meanings they accumulate through time.
JONATHAN CALM
ISAAC DIGGS
Synecdoche.
Shamanism.
NICK CAVE
KIANGA FORD
Today I think the work is about feeling. Its true that its after Saids Other and after Fanons arrested gaze and after Butlers uid performativity that I set these little stages/stage these little sets; but, as a viewer, youre not supposed to be researching, or realizing, or coming to some great understanding, youre just supposed to be feeling the space and feeling yourself and feeling other people and feeling other people feeling you and maybe, only maybe, wondering what that is all about.
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RASHAWN GRIFFIN
Salty.
SEDRICK HUCKABY
Intuition / Intellectual Improvisation / Control Spontaneity / Order.
LESLIE HEWITT
Grounded in everyday situations.
KALUP LINZY
Organized chaos.
WAYNE HODGE
NZUJI DE MAGALHES
My work is a mingled documentary, a strong storyteller, and a visionary that shows what could only be seen in thought.
A fragmented history that sits upon the throne of desire.
RODNEY McMILLIAN
I guess Im interested in the spaces around the corner which are sometimes right in front.
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LESTER MERRIWEATHER
Grind.
KARYN OLIVIER
Holding pattern.
WARDELL MILAN
Phantasmagoric.
ADAM PENDLETON
LAB.
DEMETRIUS OLIVER
The most valuable thing is intuition. Albert Einstein
JEFFERSON PINDER
Stark.
XIOMARA DE OLIVER
A queer relationship between perception & actuality.
Proving that we use to exist.
ROBERT PRUITT
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MICHAEL QUEENLAND
Last night I went to a Sonic Youth concert, and there in the front row was Stanley Kubrick! With a digital camera held high over his head, making high quality boot-leg videos ... I was really shocked, but immediately wanted to see what he had done with the footage ... Somehow I knew they would be hard to nd and expensive, even for a bootlegs. The Marvin Gaye bootleg Live at The Kennedy Center 73 was at least a couple of hundred dollars on the streets.
SHINIQUE SMITH
Ecstatic.
MARC ANDR ROBINSON

Rad.
JEFF SONHOUSE
Tenebric.
XAVIERA SIMMONS
A soul deep feeling for the black vernacular in the landscape.
KWABENA SLAUGHTER
What could a mime create if they ever stopped making that damn box.
MICKALENE THOMAS
A representation of the beauty that is BLACK WOMAN ... she works hard for the money!
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HANK WILLIS THOMAS

Songha: The conundrum of eclectic blackness.
ROBERTO VISANI
Mulatto in the middle.
JINA VALENTINE
I excise the most idiosyncratic bits from my modern language & remix all the exquisite minutiae that is the glue between us.
PAULA WILSON
Representation, ***lost love, opposition, and ownership disputes (why not reparations!?!).
WILLIAM VILLALONGO
Re-vision.
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In the Spirit of Resistance: African-American Modernist and the Mexican Muralist School, organized by the American Federation of Arts, which examined long-standing relationships and common themes among Mexican and black American artists in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. We can also look at Afro-American Abstraction, organized at P . S. 1 in 1981 by April Kingsley, which examined abstract tendencies in the work of black artists through the lens of African art and culture. This past year, Valerie Cassels Double Consciousness: Black Conceptual Art since 1970 at the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston examined this overlooked phenomenon among black artists, and The Studio Museum in Harlem takes up the cause of abstraction again in spring 2006 in Energy/Experimentation: African American Artists and Abstraction, 1964-1980, curated by Kellie Jones. This exhibition can be seen as the companion to Black Romantic, which Thelma Golden organized at The Studio Museum in Harlem in 2002 to examine elements of desire and romance around black images that are particular to guration and the black experience.
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Stokes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Frequency of Black Art Shows: Ruminations on a Phenomenon

By Lowery Stokes Sims, President, The Studio Museum in Harlem
All of these projects demonstrate how cogent concepts can legitimize all-black exhibitions. The viability of Frequency may then be determined in this context. If Freestyle is any indication, its reception will not be predicated on the fact of it being an all-black exhibition, but the fact that an institution committed to the work of black artists is presenting some of the most dynamic new art being created today.
[1] Sam Gilliam, interview with Joseph Jacobs, Since the Harlem Renaissance: 50 years of Afro-American Art, exhib. cat. (Lewisburg, PA: The Center Gallery of Bucknell University, 1984)
0203 / Freestyle Photo: Adam Reich 2001

installation views April 28 June 24,
Photo: Photograph studies, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1972
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Its fall and its 2005. Four years after Freestyle, its survey of the new generation of emerging black artists, The Studio Museum in Harlem is presenting Frequency, the follow-up to that ground-breaking exhibition, curated by Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden and Associate Curator Christine Y. Kim. Four years later, we once again raise the issue of the viabilitynay, the validityof all-black exhibitions. That premise is questioned as those of us who are senior members of the black art community remember a time when group exhibitions of black artists were anathema and curators who dared such ventures were roundly accused of essentializing the work of black artists. So why are we doing this all over again? There are, of course, nuances to the current situation that distinguish it from the past. Back in the 1970s, as mainstream institutions yielded to the demands of black artists for inclusiveness and diversity, black shows tended to be hodgepodges of styles and political inclinations. Figurative and abstract artists were included in the same projects, and the roster of participants was often predicated as much on
an individuals willingness to be part of any given project as by any curatorial at. There could be a myriad of reasons why an individual artist would participate one time and not another. As Sam Gilliam once noted, he and Mel Edwards would consider the quality of the exhibition, the quality of the catalogue and various things like that.[1] Other artists worried about being ghettoized as black artists and not seen in the context of their white contemporaries who were of similar stylistic or philosophical leanings. This situation remained largely unchanged during the ensuing decades. There were, however, glimmers of a new approach to this issue. In line with its core mission to promote black artists globally, The Studio Museum in Harlem organized all-black shows, but its directors and curators resisted the hodgepodge approach with such projects as Tradition and Conict: Images of a Turbulent Decade: 1963-1973 (1985), Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America (1988), and Explorations in the City of Light: African American Artists in Paris, 1845-1965 (1996). That same year, 1996, The Studio Museum in Harlem was also the rst venue for
Freestyle Artists: Top row : Mark S. Bradford, Susan Smith-Pinelo, Julie Mehretu, Rico Gatson, Clifford Owens, Eric Wesley, Tana Hargest, Rashid Johnson, Jennie C. Jones, Laylah Ali,
Kori Newkirk, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Camille Norment, Kira Lynn Harris, Arnold J. Kemp, Sanford Biggers, Senam Okudzoto, Kojo Grifn, Jennifer Zackman, Vincent Johnson.
Bottom row : John Bankston, Deborah Grant, Adia Millett, Nadine Robinson, Jerald Ieans, Louis Cameron, Dave McKenzie, Adler Guerrier. Not pictured : David Huffman.
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An Excerpt From: A Frequency? Other Criteria, Or, Something in the Way

By Franklin Sirmans I. A Frequency In his 1925 manifesto, Negro Youth Speaks,1 the modernist critic Alain Locke said, The Younger Generation comes, bringing its gifts. Here we have Negro youth, with arresting visions and vibrant prophecies; forecasting in the mirror of art what we must see and recognize in the streets of reality tomorrow, foretelling in new notes and accents the maturing speech of full racial utterance. He continues his address to the visual arts with a thesis of deant optimism (this being 1925 in America and Locke being a black man). So, in a day when art has run to classes, cliques and coteries, and life lacks more and more a vital common background, the Negro artist, out of the depths of his group and personal experience, has to his hand almost the conditions of a classical art. That we may nd sustenance in Lockes words 80 years later is remarkable and a testament to his prose. Picture a time when America knew little about modernism and played second ddle to Paris, even though Duchamp and his readymadeseveryday objects designated as art and placed in the appropriate contextlived in New York by 1915. And the Mexican muralists went full scale in the United States by 1925. But Clement Greenberg, Americas modernist art critic of record, missed Duchamp in his little circle of taste and art for arts sake, and I forgive him for the short shrift he gave the Mexicans, whose highly political murals inuenced countless others with their own racial utterances. The space where Duchamps art of concepts and ideas intertwines with Mexican political murals nds resonance to varying degrees in all American art since World War II. And, as Leo Steinberg wrote in 1968, American art after this period is unthinkable without this liberating impulse towards something other than art.2 Lockes words might have been taken as highly original then, but are even more prescient in the context of today. Substitute the word classical for the more theoretical present-ness of, say, paradigm-shifting and delete Negro, and the sentence could be an adequate rallying cry for the artists in this exhibition. Speaking of todays contemporary art and the occasion of this exhibition, Lockes thesisconcluding sentencewritten after the rst World War and before the Great Depressionbears strongly on the world of art and culture today. While the 2001 annihilation of the World Trade Center is the rst bookend to this essay, the other might be the credible threat of terror since thentipped off to our rich friends and museum directors (please hit me that e-mail next time) who know whats going down next week or next month on the terror front. (This excerpt is from the Frequency exhibition catalogue)
[1] Alain Locke, The Negro Youth Speaks, The Black Aesthetic, ed. Addison Gayle, Jr. (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1971) 16. (Originally published in 1925 in his anthology The New Negro.) [2] Leo Steinberg, Other Criteria, Other Criteria: Confrontations with 20th Century Art (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972) 62.
In Remembrance of Joyce Wein
Photo by Ray Llanos
The better I came to know the inner re of this woman, the more I loved her, her spirit, her gusty laugh, the more I understood her concerns and joys.
The Studio Museum Harlem trustee Joyce Wein passed away in August 2005. She served on the board since 1994. ... Together with her husband George Wein, she was a tireless supporter of the museum and an important collector of modern and contemporary art with an exemplary representation of the work of AfricanAmerican artists. The Weins also helped to support the museums long-standing program Vital Expressions in American Art, by designating the museum as one of the city-wide sites for the annual JVC Jazz Festival. The following reminiscence was provided by long-time friends and associates Hugh and Jewel Fierce. Mr. Fierce is the CEO of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Joyce Wein possessed a set of values to which she quietly but tenaciously adhered and which unerringly guided and dened who she was: truth, knowledge, honesty, hard work, giving spirit, kindness and compassion. Out of this deep well sprang a subtle but demonstrative generosity for those she loved, especially George, as well as those who needed her. She had no need of great recognition for her acts. She gave because she cared. This was the best portion of this good womans life. But, without doubt, Joyce had little tolerance for nonsense. She had only to reach out and grab your arm tightly, hold up her hand or simply give that wide-eyed look for the recipient to know that it was time to keep quiet and listen. She was the teacher and her wisdom demanded respect. Our friendship was not immediate, for Joyce was thoughtful, cautious, watchful. It evolved over the years, through many conversations, some late at night over our favorite cocktail in the quiet of her lovely home in France. The better I came to know the inner re of this woman, the more I loved her, her spirit, her gusty laugh, the more I understood her concerns and joys. Preparing meals under her direct, and not-to-be-messed-with, supervision was a treat. Everyone knew how much she loved tennis, but I wonder how many knew that she was the best Scrabble player or that she enjoyed puzzles with a kazillion pieces. All fond memories. I was with my friend the morning she received the news about her health. She took it with dignity and strength and somehow managed over the next years to renew her courage to face life bravely. We continued to have our talks, share laughter and have hope, but eventually it was tinged with sadness because we both understood. She is gone but we still smile at each other daily, for her picture graces the counter where I have breakfast and serves as a reminder of how precious she was and will always be. Many people will walk in and out of our lives, but only true friends leave footprints in your heart.
Jefferson Pinder and Jeff Stein , Carwash Meditations (video still), 2005
Commissioned / Mark Bradford in collaboration with Willard Brown
Gordon Parks
Being a native New Yorker, I pride myself on not being shaken at the sight of a famous person on the street. We are surrounded by so many great minds, amazing actors and inspired musicians that encountering celebrity can become a regular experience. But I confess that if I ever met Gordon Parks anywhere, ever, you would think that Michael Jackson (of 1983) had just asked me to replace Ola Ray as his girlfriend in the Thriller video. The true denition of Renaissance Man, Gordon Parks is an icon. He is a world-renowned photographer, writer, composer, director and lmmaker who, at the age of 93, continues to be a creative force. Born in Fort Scott, Kan., in 1912, Parks was one of 15 children. Taught to value honesty, education and hard work, he was shaken by the death of this mother in 1927. Sent to live with his sister in St. Paul, Minn., so he could nish high school, he found himself homeless following a dispute with his brother-in-law. As a result, his amazing artistic career began in his teens in the most honest and utilitarian of wayshe began playing the piano and singing his own songs to make a living. I barely survived playing the piano in a brothel and washing dishes at a dingy restaurant. But an urge to create had taken hold, though the little art I had been exposed to was that found in the funny papers. The closest thing to classical music Id heard was the humming of june bugs in Poppas corneld. [1] Invited to join a band that later fell apart, Parks found himself stuck in Harlem. It was there that he met his rst wife in 1933. A year later he returned to St. Paul and worked as a dining car waiter and porter on the North Coast Limited. While working for the railroad, Parks discovered that his love for creating led him to photography. He came across a magazine that included images taken by Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and Ben Shahn for the Farms Security Administration (FSA), an agency set up by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the Works Progress Administration. Inspired by their work, he took his rst pictures in Seattle, Wash., during a train run from St. Paul. He was given his rst show by Eastman Kodak shortly thereafter. Determined to make a career in photography, Parks was awarded a fellowship in 1941 to work with photographer Roy Stryker at the FSA in Washington, D.C. It was there that Parks met Ella Watson and created an image that speaks about the black experience in this countryAmerican Gothic (1942). Parks work at FSA laid a foundation for his future. He became a photographer for the Ofce of War Information and photographed World War II black ghter pilots. His eye later landed him a job as the rst black fashion photographer for Vogue. The idea of documentary photography, however, the driving force behind his love of photography, still was important to Parks. So, in 1948 he approached Life magazine to ask for a job. Impressed by his work, they hired him the same day. His assignmentsdocumenting the gang crime scene in Harlem and covering upcoming Parisian fashions exhibited a duality which has spanned his entire career. My rst intimate experience with his photographs was during the 1998 New York installation of his retrospective exhibition, Half Past Autumn (1997), curated by the Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C. I will never forget being drawn into the splendor, motion and emotion of his images. I spent hours poring over his work, amazed at his ability to give the poorest of the poor the same sense of worth and beauty as the women in his fashion photographs. I stood for hours, developing my own relationship with Flavio da Silva and his family, and found In addition to The Learning Tree (1963), Parks has elements of my own life in images of Harlem, Fort Scott written several books including: A Choice of Weapons and Paris. (1966), To Smile in Autumn (1979), Voices in the Mirror (1990), Arias of Silence (1994) and the catalogue But most of all, I was and am still amazed by the degree accompanying his retrospective exhibition, Half Past of access that this one man has. He has photographed Autumn, in 1997. And on the eve of his newest autobiogroyalty, celebrities and common folkcapturing moments raphy, A Hungry Heart, A Memoir, and book of poetry that I never knew existed or would be afraid to witness. and images, Eyes with Winged Thoughts, The Studio Museum and his self-proclaimed greatest fan pause to Parks was a trailblazer not only for black artist, but for recognize the amazing work, life and creative spirit of Mr. American photography as well. He was awarded Gordon Parks. the National Medal of Arts in 1988 and has received [1] Gordon Parks, Half Past Autumn (Boston: Bulnch Press, 1998). over 50 honorary doctorate degrees. In 2002, at the active age of 90, he was inducted into the International Jonell Jaime Photo-graphy Hall of Fame and Museum and received Manager of School , Family and Youth Programs the Jackie Robinson Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo by Johanna Fiore The long list of kudos and awards do not honor his photography career alone. Parks touched our hearts and minds in The Learning Tree (1969), a lm adaptation of his autobiographical novel of the same title. Capturing his life in Fort Scott, this amazing movie, which Parks directed himself, was placed on the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1989. And he will forever be honored in the hallowed halls of black popular culture as the director of the original Shaft (1971). This mark of distinction was recognized by director John Singleton, who included Parks in a cameo in the 2000 re-invention of the lm (remember the scene at the Lenox Lounge?).
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wePod. Harlem. Shufe.

By Kira Lynn Harris and Brian Keith Jackson >
SHUFFLE >
The African women measuring heads along 125th Street no longer call out to me. My hair is too short even for their expert ngers. No tweets or cahnrows will they sing. My hair, at this length, provides no cowrie shells. They will give me time, hoping I will nd my way back. Perhaps I will. Im an inch away. Cornrows. Ill tell her, Not too tight. She will say, Okay. I will still feel the pull. Even the ghetto facelift needs healing time. I will know the instant my head is worthy again. In harmony, a mass choir of women will appear as I make my way around the neighborhood. They wont miss a SHUFFLE > beat. An old song new. Tweets. Cahnrows. Harlem Come back to the Lord. Get your latest gospel CDs, has a history of measuring heads. While a student at says the curbside prophet in front of the historic Hotel Barnard, Zora Neale Hurston was sent to measure Theresa. His suitcase is loaded with music keen to them on this very street. One of her professors believed spread the Word. When the word on the street is still C-R-E-A-M. Cash rules everything around me. Gospel Negroes were less intelligent due to head size. Absurd, yes, but she measured with aplomb. She had tuition to CDs. Three for ve. Get em while theyre hot. Suddpay. Zora, like the African women, paid attention, never enly the prophet zips up his suitcase. It is not the spirit wasting an opportunity to move ahead. that moves him. Its the approaching policeman.
Were pleased to introduce this new feature, which pairs contemporary visual artists with writers. For this debut edition, contemporary photographer Kira Lynn Harris provided 10 of her images of Harlem to novelist Brian Keith Jackson, who responded with his words. Heres what they both had to say.
FORWARD >
Outside my window, ve oors down yet rising to MENU/PLAY > greet me, a horn blows. Its not Ellington and Coltrane. I put my iPod on a timeout. Every time I took it out for a Rather, Dizzy. Cheeks and all. This is how I choose to walk it was too demanding, refusing to share my ears. interpret the sound, how I salve annoyance. I neednt I was missing something, needed more. But how can get up from my desk to inquire why this horn is blowing. we resist the sexiness of orchestrating the soundtracks I know the story well. Alternate Side Parking. Somefor our own movies, our names forever above the titles. one has double-parked on the dirty side of the street, Forget the extras. A cat on its eighth life has no time leaving another motionless. There is a time to be silent, for curiosity. Hip Hop. Blues. Rap. Rock. Jazz. Folk. but for the player of the horn, this is not it. We are not They are all around me, providing lifes playlist, forever always the only obstacles in our way. Eventually someon shufe. But try as I may, I cant truly hear them with one comes. Riffs are exchanged. The blowing stops. plugged ears. The spit is disposed. Freedom.
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SHUFFLE>
We now have almost as many drugstores in the neighborhood as churches. A young woman, in the latest designer attire, has been detained for allegedly shoplifting in Duane Reade. Allegedly, is a musical word; it skips off the tongue. Its denition: we have permission to embarrass and fuck you up, without liability. Okay, those arent the exact words that Mr. Webster used, but some Liberties must be taken. Security stands with the woman. She is not having it. She calls someone on her cell phone, telling them to come. I envision a huge SUV rolling up on the sidewalk, rims spinning, speakers pumping Kanye Wests Gold Digger. Its about to be on. Up in heah, up in heah. She closes her phone. I wait in line as I watch. I hate scenes like this. I have SHUFFLE > been falsely accused before. According to statistics, I go into a local caf. Classical music plays. A fugue. many just like me have been detained. I give her the Two women are sitting a table away, Citarella bags at benet of the doubt. They want to look in her bag. She their feet. While some people in the neighborhood pass refuses. Credit or Debit? asks the cashier ringing me the day on a park bench, swapping tales and gossip, up. Debit, I say. Im buying oss. On closer inspecthese ladies do so over lunch. Like the women before tion lets go to the video they nd no stolen goods. her and the women before her, shes a white wine drunk. She is let go. We walk out at the same time. Are you But since she only drinks white wine she doesnt conokay? I ask. Oh, Im ne. But they bout to catcha sider herself a drunk. It is true. She can hold her wine. case. My ears are now tuned enough to know that she But just like the women before her, its her pills that fuck does not mean the bird u. her up. Oh Lawd, your blues aint like mine?
SHUFFLE >
I walk through Mount Morris, Marcus Garvey, Mount Morris Park. This parks name has been changed so much it would make P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean Combs, envious. Change does happen. Ive always been fond of this park. Ive watched it turn from dirt to grass. Its a windy fall day and the leaves sing and dance. Wind chimes. There is a rhythm in the drift of a falling leaf. While growing up in Louisiana Id heard that if you catch a falling leaf, its good luck. I also learned that luck stems from perseverance. Your number will hit. A woman and man are walking toward me. I cant tell how old they are. Time has not been their keeper. Thats Rock & Roll, Baby. Why you always talkin down to me, like I dont know shit, says the man to the woman. Just cuz you get upn look in tha toilet, dat dont make you no expert on shit, says the woman to the man. They scurry past me, scanning the ground like squirrels seeking their harvest. I crack a smile, pleased I was there to catch their repartee. I will steal, er, appropriate, er, sample, their words, and use them at some point. In Harlem, everything seems up for grabs.
SHUFFLE >
The sun is setting. Night, soon come. The clouds and the color of the sky merge. Its a picture God created and pollution intensied. Children are playing on the street, cherishing the last days of warmth. Soon it will be too cold to just chill. From a window, one of the children has been called home. It seems kids are older now. They move as they please. So the child tarries, not heeding his mothers summons. It is not long before she appears, but not at the window this time. Hes not as grown as hed like it believed. I watch the scene. I listen. The mother and son make their way into their building. Ah, man, says one of the boys cronies. Aint nothin worsen havin yo mama beat yo assn tha streetn front of everbody. Another rings in as their jeers rise, Wit rollasn huh hair. They all laugh, as kids should, when given the opportunity to be kids. I laugh too.
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Cheryl Riley Artist

True beauty is in the details. Although there exist several variations of this common phrase, one recent experience I had with it was reading the September 2005 issue of Essence magazine in which one of Cheryl Rileys one of a kind furnishings was featured. Numerous renderings of this piece have been fashioned, and many more will be fabricated, but this particular design breathed new life into the piece we know as the functional coffee table. Committed to creating work that not only meets the needs of the buyer but also speaks to her artistic objectives, Cheryl Riley is an artist who goes the distance. Implementing her unparalleled attention to detail, Riley is interested in the things people dont see, which is articulated in how she nishes the bottoms of her furniture designs. This 22nd-century renaissance woman, who effortlessly shifts between artist, designer, academic, consultant and back to artist, credits her mother with encouraging artistic exploration by allowing her to draw on a wall in their Houston, Texas home. As a result of this encouragement, Riley has exhibited her work in over 25 museums and 50 galleries around the world, including the Smithsonians CooperHewitt, National Design Museum, where Coin Encrusted Tudor Tables III (Elizabeth I) and IV (Henry VIII) (1982) were not only museum purchases, but the sole furniture pieces included in the Smithsonians traveling show. In addition to making functional sculptures, Riley continues to push the envelope of her artistic practice by creating wooden bracelets based on patterns from her furniture designs. The products of this manipulated ow of deliberate spontaneity will be on view in the Museum Store for its third installment of More-In-Store. There, Cheryl Rileys Appropriation Bags, Because Youre Worth It mirrors, Baldwin Totems, Hot Flash fans and unique wallpapers will be for sale. These heirlooms-in-the-making range in subject matter from the various readings and constructions of ones self worth to an homage celebrating the life and work of one of the worlds greatest thinkers and controversial writers. Rileys musings can be found in many realmsart history, literature and popular culture, to name a fewbut one thing is clear: you will denitely want one of her creations in your home.
SHUFFLE >
I sit back at my desk. The sun has set. I still hear sounds. Cars, with no sense of urgency, continue to move below. This time it is more Ellington and Coltrane than Gillespie. I am in a sentimental mood. I dont always want to hear or listen. Often it is easier to block everything out. If music is truly the universal language, closing our ears to the sounds weaken the exchange, the quest for understanding. Im glad I put my iPod on a timeout. I will take it out again, but I needed to be reminded that my playlist isnt the only one worth hearing. Talk.
PAUSE/HOLD/CHARGING.
For more information: www.cherylriley.com mail@cherylriley.com Makeba Dixon-Hill Education and Public Programs Coordinator
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collection
Robin Rhode
ode in Rh b o R n/ isitio Acqu w e N
Collection: On Loan
The Studio Museum in Harlem has over 1,600 pieces in the permanent collection. Some of these works are on view in venues around the world. Here are some works to look out for: The Corcoran Gallery of Art has organized a multiplevenue tour, Sam Gilliam: A Retrospective, which will include a prominent piece from our collection, Lions Rock Arc (1981), a Gift of Dr. Morton J. Roberts, Washington, D.C. The tour originates at The Corcoran in Washington, D.C., and proceeds to the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Ky.; the Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, Ga.; and the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas, where the exhibition will close in May 2007. Indigo Mercy (1975) by Betye Saar, a Gift of the Nzingha Society, Inc., will be on loan to the Musee National dArt Moderne at the Centre Pompidou for the exhibition Los AngelesParis, on view from March 8, 2006, to June 26, 2006. This exhibition is devoted to art of Los Angeles from 1955 to 1985, and will include a number of signicant and historical works by Betye Saar among many others.
Shari Zolla Registrar and Collections Manager
01 / Sam Gilliam Lions Rock Arc (Detail) 1981 02 / Betye Saar Indigo Mercy 1975
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day life objects directly on the surface of streets, oors and walls, and then by interacting with them like a mime, wiping and redrawing. In your live performances, stop-action animations, videos and photographs, your body is rarely present. Why is this? Albeit from the back and somewhat disguised, is this you in Stacked Drawing? What is the relationship between your body or presence and the work?
A: I turned 29 years old this year. It was a revelation to exhibit alongside past masters and to focus around the importance of a co-existence between art and a dialogue between generations, since we are not only making art but constructing a new history that should be engaging for future generations.
Q: Critics have said that you refuse to conform to the standards that have emerged in South African art. What does that mean to you?
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Q: In the 51st Venice Biennale catalogue, Thomas Botoux writes Rhodes modus operandi is to depart from performances that he stages either in the public space or within the perimeter of museums and galleries, in front of an audience, or in private. Using chalk or charcoal, Rhode executes elementary drawings of every-
A: I have taken on a disguise in my work in order to create an entity anonymous to my practice. The disguise is a simple gesture of wearing hats and common clothing items, which has somehow allowed me to develop into another character, an alter ego. I also wish to shift away from hier-archical structures where the artist is sole controller over the nature and process of the work into a more relational and open process. The artist body could therefore identify itself with existing social bodies and clandestine forms.
Q: You and Jun Yang (China/Austria) are the youngest artists included in the Biennale. How old are you and how does it feel to be exhibited alongside Francis Bacon, Philip Guston and artists who are two or more generations before you?
A: This point extends beyond the geography of South Africa and could relate to many other contexts. In certain instances, many artists have chosen to use political themes as a syntax for the realization of art. I do not reject this notion of making political art, but I have instead embarked on a practice where forms could become engaging to an extent that allows art to become political. Interview by Christine Y. Kim, Associate Curator
01 / Robin Rhode Stacked Drawing (Detail) 2004 Collection of The Studio Museum in Harlem
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You never need to see a childrens book illustrated by San Diego-born Kadir Nelson to be familiar with his work. Many of us have seen his dynamic images of basketball players, Negro League baseball gures and scenes that celebrate African-American history and culture in paintings and posters for sale all around the country. But what you may not know is that he was the conceptual artist behind the Oscar-nominated animated lm Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and the man whose vision of the Middle Passage brought Amistad to life for director Steven Spielberg. and Major League Baseball. And for Playstation 2 fans, the amazing cover for NFL Street II, featuring the New York Giants Jeremy Shockey, is his artwork as well. Not into video games or sports? No problem. Movie goers and television enthusiasts may recognize Nelsons unique paintings from the sets of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Jamie Foxx Show, Ice Cubes movie Friday and Beauty Shop, starring Queen Latifah.
Studio Studio/ / Fall Fall Winter Winter200506 200506
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Kadir Nelson Illustrator
become an architect, he said. Use my drawing ability for that. But his heart wasnt in it. After changing his major to illustration, he never looked back.
Nelson is dedicated to creating artwork that, gives people a sense of hope and nobility ... I want to show the strength and integrity of the human being and the human spirit. In line with that mission, illustrating positive, inspiring childrens books is an important part of his artistic career. Believing that His success as an artist is no childrens books are a young surprise. Citing his artistic persons introduction to the ability at the age of three, arts, Kadir has collaborated Nelson acknowledges, I with notable authors and have always been an artist entertainers to bring incredHis large-scale oil paint... Its a part of my DNA. ible stories to life. He won ings have been commisSupported by his family, he the 2005 Coretta Scott King sioned by Sports Illustrated, was apprenticed at 11 to Award for his work in Jerdine Coca-Cola, Dreamyard his uncle, artist and arts Nolens Thunder Rose, a instructor Michael Morris. It wonderful story about a was then that he developed young black cowgirl. He has his foundation in art, a base worked with Debbie Allen that won him an architecture on Dancing in the Wings, and scholarship to the Pratt he illustrated the bestseller Institute in Brooklyn. Some Please, Baby, Please, writpeople said that I should ten by Spike and Tonya Lee. Nelson was also awarded an NAACP Image Award for his images in Just the Two of Us, written by Will Smith. In addition to his commercial success, Nelson has also exhibited internationally at many museums and galleries. His work has been shown at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, The Studio Museum in Harlem, the Bristol Museum in England and The Citizens Gallery of Yokohama, Japan, among other venues. His work is in the private collections of Denzel Washington, Debbie Allen, and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Jonell Jaime Manager of School , Family and Youth Programs
2005 Kadir Nelson Cookieman created exclusively for The Studio Museum in Harlem
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education and public programs
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EMERGEncy: Replenishing the Field

tion is given to understanding legacies or nurturing critical thinking professionals, I think the transition made by these Behind the scenes at many two women speaks volumes FPO arts organizations across the In some cases, for the art world, about the manner in which the PULL FROM country, there are circular answers to these questions Studio Museum fosters the conversations that take place and the issue of vacancy are emergence of leaders in the LAST ISSUE in meeting rooms year after manifested in institutional eld. Do their landmark deciyear. The discussion is usually programming, making museums sions exclude us from worrying about replenishing the eld or and cultural spaces sites for about who or what is next on the preempting a looming void from professional development. horizon? Absolutely not! At the landing in your area. These end of the day, replenishing the discussions force the uncomThe subject of replenishing eld means fostering emergSandra D. Jackson-Dumont fortable conversation about the eld is obviously a hot ing thought and practice and Director of Education and Public Programs electing who will be next in line topic at The Studio Museum in diversifying the eld in order to take up the torch or break Harlem, as we are continuously to avoid cultural bankruptcy new ground. In speaking with engaging emerging artists and or, for lack of a better word, an The new millennium has given colleagues, this subject seems arts professionals. The Studio emergency. birth to an unprecedented to be as ripe as ever. It actually Museums youth programs, number of reality television seems as urgent as an emerARTlooks: A Day in the Life of Photo by Robert Hale shows, ranging from The Surgencyan emergency to supan Artist and Expanding the real Life and Americas Next port the emerging. While the Walls: Making Connections Top Model to Starting Over and American public is humiliating Between Photography, History Big Brother. And lets not forget the candidates for its next idol, and Community, along with the ever-present yet reinvented the art and culture elds might the adult program The Artists and pioneering Real World. want to take note of that shows Voice are designed to challenge While some of these voyeuristi- fallout and consider nurturing artists to think about their work cally entertaining swatches of the potential of its next generain the context of art history and personal pitfalls and triumphs tion. Considering replenishing the world, in an effort to foster have enjoyed greater success the eld. new thinking. than others, I think there is some value that be gleaned Yes, I too indulge in the guilty While these standout programs Vital Expressions in can American Art: Performance at SMH Craig Harrisof and friendsexplorations, performing Souls pleasure of watching some of from most these illustrate my point, I must admit within the Veil, June 10, 2005 whether it be the identication these popular reality shows that when I think about the of bad television or the basic and often think that there is Studio Museums most recent understanding that on a public something amiss when popular efforts to restock, President and private level people are in culture needs to create the Lowery Stokes Sims and Direcsearch of ll in the blank or are illusion of building the next tor and Chief Curator Thelma trying to escape ll in the blank. generation of icons before Golden instantly come to mind. Whatever lls in the blank, our eyes. Questions such as, In an era in which little attenthere is a void in almost every professional arena and the art world is no exception. how authentic is the talent? and, why have these particular people been selected? come rushing forward.
Public Programs
Public Programs
The Studio Museum in Harlem has a long tradition of presenting programs that address prevalent issues in contemporary art by artists of African descent. Through the Department of Education and Public Programs, we offer a range of activities and programs that engage a diverse cross-section of artists of various disciplines, writers, scholars and critics who share diverse perspectives with our audiences.
Pre-registration is required. Call 212 8644500 x264 with questions or to register for any of the following programs.
Activating Archives The Archives of American Art as a resource for research on African-American art Wedneday, November 16, 7pm Sunday Salon Sunday, December 4, 35pm Tours for Seniors! Saturday, December 3, 2pm Saturday, January 7, 2pm Saturday, February 4, 2pm Saturday, March 4, 2pm Hoofers House Friday, December 16, 7pm Friday, January 20, 7pm Friday, February 17, 7pm Friday, March 10, 7pm
Family fun @ the Studio! Cool quilting for kids! Saturday, December 3 10am12noon Kuumba = Creativity! Kwanzaa celebration at the Studio Museum Saturday, December 17 11am2pm Make Your Mark! Saturday, January 7 10am12noon Dress Up, Dress Down! Saturday, February 4 10am12noon Books + Authors Kids! Saturday, March 4 10am12noon
Artlooks: A Day in the Life of an Artist The 2004-2006 Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Gift Portfolio Review Day for High School Students! Saturday, January 21, 11am1pm Hands-on: Video Two-Weekend Intensive Workshops for HS Students Saturday, January 21, 24pm Sunday, January 22, 10am3pm Saturday + Sunday January 28 + 29, 10am3pm Words-In-Motion: One-Day Cipher Saturday, March 11, 10am3pm
Artists-In-Residence Open Studio Sunday, November 13, 26pm Books + Authors: Evenings with Writers and Others Friday, November 18, 7pm Featuring Gordon Parks Titles: Eyes With Winged Thoughts: Poetry & Images and A Hungry Heart: A Memoir both by Gordon Parks. World Aids Day Thursday, December 1, time to be determined
Family Programs
The Studio Museum in Harlem acknowledges the need for families to spend time together. Nurturing bonds between parents and their children through art, the museum offers programs and activities that allow families to share in the creative process. Bring the family and explore our exciting exhibition. Become an artist in a hands-on workshop and create works of art with your kids!
Family programs are designed for families with children 4-10 years old. These programs are free. Pre-registration is required. Call 212.864.4500 X264 to register.
Youth Programs
The Studio Museum in Harlem is dedicated to creating a safe environment for youth to express themselves creatively. The museum hosts free programs for high school students outside of the school environment. These programs offer students the opportunity to meet and converse with prominent visual artists, express their ideas through discussion, facilitate tours and hands-on workshops and develop important communication and critical thinking skills.
Pre-registration is required. Call 212 8644500 x264 with questions or to register for any of the following programs.
Wayne Hodge, Doppelganger II (Body and Soul) (video still), 2005
Education and Public Programs are funded in part, by: The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, Nimoy Foundation, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Wachovia Foundation, Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, Elaine Dannheisser Foundation, MetLife Foundation, Time Warner Inc., Citigroup Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, The Center for Arts Education, Barker Welfare Foundation, Helena Rubinstein Foundation, Jerome Foundation, ARTS Intern, Dedalus Foundation, The Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust, May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, public funds from the New York State Ofce of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation made available by the ofce of Assemblyman Keith L. Wright and Corcoran Group Real Estate.
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artists abroad
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harlem: where were at
Artists Abroad: Camille Norment & Glenn Ligon in Olso, Norway
Artist Glenn Ligon recently went to visit artist Camille Norment who was featured in our 2001 exhibition Freestyle in Oslo, Norway. We asked him to let us know what shes up to. Camille Norment is an artist whose practice embraces visual and sonic complexity. In her work, images slide in and out of focus, sound permeates the body on a subaural level and vibrations and tones subtly alter the space around the viewer. To experience her work is to be more aware of ones body in relation to the microcosm of the exhibition space as well as the larger world outside.
Photos by Glenn Ligon
with its emphasis on the politics of perception, is in a fruitful diaI visited Camille this summer at a fantastic loft space in Oslo that logue with the local scene. she shares with her partner, the artist Knut Asdam, and their young daughter Ravn. Among the many things she was working on was Besides hanging out with Camille and the other artists I met, the a new body of photographs focused on issues of photography and other thing I liked about Oslo is that they like to par-tay, as I discovperception. A series of beautiful photographic portraits use a type of ered when I went to bed at ve oclock in the morning for the third glass that renders the images illegible from certain angles, thereby night in a row after hanging out in a punk bar and a hip-hop club. focusing our attention on seeing as an act of framing. She is also Love me some Oslo! developing a number of large-scale installation pieces. The Oslo art scene is quite international, with contemporary and alternative spaces that show work from all over the world. What struck me about Oslo was that the artists I met there were intensely focused on politics: questions of social justice, nationalism, the global economy, etc. They saw themselves not as Scandinavian artists, but as artists who were in dialogues across genres, borders and histories. In that context, Camilles conceptually based work,
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harlem: where were at
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StudioSound: Freeness, Presented by Chris Olis Icebox Organization, CDR and Blacktronica
Creativity often lives and dies without ever having an audience. The Freeness initiative, organized by artist Chris Olis Icebox organization in collaboration with CDRs Gavin Alexander and Tony Mwarchukwu and Blacktronica, put out a call for new music by artists of African, Asian, Carribean and Chinese descent. To do this, CDR organized a three-month tour across the United Kingdom, and invited producers and musical innovators to bring their ideas, tracks, remixes and edits on CD and be aired in an intimate space among peers and likeminded individuals. Sessions were held in 10 cities throughout the United Kingdom including London, Manchester, Bristol, Newcastle and Leeds from January to March 2005. For too long, the musical traditions of jazz, blues and reggae have been relegated to the sidelines of the current musical zeitgeist. Musicians who choose to forego the traditional routes of soul-crushing record contracts, long-winded studio sessions and international headlining tours are often marginalized as well. In an attempt to rectify the sad state of todays music industry, the Freeness organizers have compiled a dazzling collection of songs that reect the current inuences of the United Kingdoms diverse population. This compilation, Freeness Volume I, seeks to explore alternative musical sounds outside of the connes of mainstream popular music. The CDs 29 tracks are lled with a variety of musical inuences, including R&B, hip hop, Zimbabwean folk, Ugandan soul, Cuban percussion, African gospel and Indian classical mixed with indigenous sounds native to Brazil, Nigeria, Asia and the Middle East. During the tour, an astonishing 2000 tracks were submitted by local artists, reecting the incredible musical talent currently residing in the United Kingdom. This prolic outpouring inspired CDR to partner with Icebox and Blacktronica to compile a sampling of songs in a two-disc album. This compilation is a snapshot of the current musical tastes and moods of a young, culturallydiverse British generation. Freeness Volume I is a ercely diverse and sprawling album the common link between artists is their independent spirits. Many of these musicians are unsigned artists who proudly produce and distribute their own tracks, shoot their own videos and use homemade promotional tools to sell their albums. For example, the Leeds-based nu-soul band Bootis, whose music is infused with elements of funk, soul and jazz, has no member above the age of 26. Then there are the songs of Josephine Oniyama, whose musical inuences range from Bob Dylan to Ella Fitzgerald and even Oasis. For these artists, music is not just a pastime or a means to a lucrative career but is their way of life and the platform to deliver their deepest thoughts and emotions. These ideas can best be expressed by a Freeness artist, Hondo Netsayi, a former refugee of the Zimbabwean war of liberation, who declares with utter honesty, Most of us are brought up on lies ... I like to get to the root of things and I will write about anything as long as theres a question to be answered. Above all, Freeness is not just an album, but a not-for-prot music initiative that aims to celebrate new young artists. The wide-ranging ethnic inuences that the Freeness artists contribute to the album are a celebration of a vibrant community taking root in the United Kingdom. According to artist Chris Oli, Volume I is just a taste of the range of talent, ideas and creativity that came our way. Were delighted to be working alongside these artists. There is denitely more to come. Freeness is available for free at www.freeness.co.uk. Music from the album will be played in the Studio Museum lobby as the third installation of Studio Sound. This aural experience can be heard throughout the exhibition season.
Jared Rowell, Executive Assitant to the Director
Staff Picks
Ronny Quevdeo Expanding the Walls Program Coordinator / Museum Educator
When public art is mentioned, monuments of heroes or minimalist sculptures come to mind. Often they seem out of place or out of date. But around Harlem, public art is more engaging in both shape and content. So if youre tired of white walls, check out the city streets. Today grafti is idealized in magazines, on t-shirts and occasionally in galleries.
But theres a place to see the best in its appropriate environment. We all know 106 and Park as a television show, but few know its the location of the Grafti Wall of Fame. Artists from all over the country update this evolving monument annually. The rest of the year, its a city playground. To the east, at 104th Street and Lexington Avenue stands The Spirit of East
Harlem. This mural, which takes up a buildings entire faade, is a landmark of El Barrio. From giant-size domino players to residents climbing a building, this mural is a portrait
of the vibrancy of Spanish Harlem. Across the street is a more recent addition to El Barrios public gallery. The Helio-Chronometer, completed by my friend Marina Gutierrez and Oscar Cornejo in 2004, resides in the yard of P .S. 72. This piece is intended to interact with the movement of the sun to create the visual record of time on a building. Using symbols
Photo by Jovan Speller
from grafti, Puerto Rican folklore and pre-Columbian iconography, the Inti-Huatana, its Andean Qechua name, serves as a marker of time through cultural development.
Up on 136th Street are hidden treasures. While working on a collaboration with Harlem Hospital, I came across some WPA murals in the Old Nurses Resident Building. Of all the paintings, I was most intrigued by the one that tells of the role of nurses in medicineit was reminiscent of Mexican murals by offering a story of important social progress through stunning visuals.
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harlem where were at
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Madame Walker Didnt Live Here, Harlem Architecture After the Renaissance
By John Reddick The architecture of modern Harlem, post-renaissance, from the late 1930s through the post-war years, has been dened as much by what it eradicated as by what it produced. The architecture of the Moderne, International Style and Post-Modernism represents for many Harlemites more a symbol of government intervention and urban renewal than any kindred or homegrown inspiration. An exception could be made for Harlem clubs built from the late 1930s through the 1950s. Images of Smalls Paradise, newly renovated and air-conditioned Sugar Rays or the sole surviving Lenox Lounge reveal that Harlem club owners were supportive of the modern, commissioning distinctive contemporary spaces to the apparent delight of their clientele. Looking for a similar architectural exuberance in residential and institutional architecture, I went searching about Harlem for examples. One rewarding nd is the Ivey Delph Apartments (1951) at 19 Hamilton Terrace. This modest yet elegant Moderne-styled apartment building is unique for its restraint and compatibility of scale with neighboring brownstones. Designed in 1948 by Vertner W. Tandy, the rst licensed African-American architect in New York, the building was developed by Dr. Walter Ivey Delph, a prominent Harlem doctor and real estate investor who saw the apartments as an opportunity to provide a better and healthier living environment for African Americans. The Ivey Delph Apartments were the rst large-scale housing project by and for African Americans in New York backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage commitment. The six-story beige brick building retains its historic architectural details, including a series of curved projecting balconies that rise above the buildings recessed entrance. For International-Style high-rise apartment living, my sentimental favorite is Lenox Terrace (1957) by S.J. Kessler & Sons, located on 135th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues. Long before televisions George and Louise Jefferson gave definition to an urban, African-American version of moving on up high-rise style, most Americans glimpsed fantasies of it in movies of the 1950s and early 1960s. Urbane advertising executives like Rock Hudson and Doris Day had sleek, modern pads, complete with balconies, automobile drop-off and doormen at the ready. For the middle-class Harlem resident desiring a similar high-rise setting, Lenox Terrace was it! One can still feel a rush of 1960s Ebony glamour as youre whisked off 135th Street and onto the cloistered circular driveway that deposits you under a cantilevered entrance of polished granite that connects to the buildings lobby. Other residential complexes noteworthy for their high-rise architecture and unique siting are Morningside Gardens (1959) by Harrison & Abramovitz, which is set off the citys street grid in the rocky outcrops of Morningside Heights, and Schomburg Plaza (1975) by Gruzen & Partners, with twin towers positioned like giant octagonal pillars at Harlems gateway, the juncture of Fifth Avenue and Central Park North (110th Street) on Duke Ellington Circle. For post-modernists, I have two out and out favorites. Dance Theatre of Harlem (1971 and 1994) by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates at 466 West 152nd Street was originally a garage. The building went through a series of renovations and additions, culminating with the Everett Center, and offers a streetfront exuberance rivaled only by the companys talented dancers. Banded in alternating rows of black and white glazed blocks, the buildings exterior mimics an un-built 1928 house design by architect Adolf Loos for another famed African-American dancer, Josephine Baker. By contrast, other walls are composed of a multi-toned pattern that replicates African Kuba cloth. At the corner is an image, in leaping prole, of the companys director, Arthur Mitchell, riding the pinnacle like a dancing weathervane. Though currently lacking the weathervane-like crescent and star that once crowned its peak, the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque (1965) by Sabbath Brown, located at Lenox Avenue and 116th Street, is no less exuberant. Working with basic commercial materials and traditional Islamic forms, Browns conversion of the former Lenox Casino is by turns both simple and radical. The brash faade captures, in a complex and contradictory manner, the mosques desire to promote a physical and spiritual presence in Harlem that would rival neighboring Christian edices for the souls of black folks following the death of Malcolm X. John T. Reddick works on architectural preservation, planning and public art in New York City. He serves on Community Board #9 in Manhattan and is the Director of the Central Park Conservancys Landscape Program.
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04 01 / Malcolm Shabazz Mosque No.7, 1965 Architect: Sabbath Brown 02 / Schomberg Plaza, 1975 Architect: Gruzen & Partners 03 / Morningside Gardens, 1959 Architect: Harrison & Abramovitz 04 / Lenox Terrace, 1957 Architect: S. J. Kessler & Sons 05 / Ivey Delph Apartments, 1951 Architect: Vertner W. Tandy 06 / Dance Theatre of Harlem, 1971 & 1994 Architect: Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates All photos by John T. Reddick
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Museum Store
shop!
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The titles on your bookshelves say more about you than just what books youve read. In some ways, they describe who you arewhat is most important and relevant to you in this world. While each persons book collection is distinct and personal, weve assembled here a diverse, beautiful and handy mix of books available in the Studio Museum Store that you can either add to your bookshelf or use to start one.
Contemporary Artists
Perserve By: Ellen Gallagher and Jeff Fleming
Item# 1535 Price: $39.95 Member: $33.95
Fred Wilson: Black Like Me (Coming Soon) By: Richard Klein
Kara Walker: Pictures From Another Time By: Kara Elizabeth Walker
Lorna Simpson By: Kellie Jones
Jean-Michel Basquiat (Coming Soon) By: Rudy Chiapinni
African American Art Masters
African American Masters By: Gwen Everett
Archibald Motley Jr. By: Amy M. Mooney
Collecting African American Art By: Halima Taha
Item# 131 Price:$50.00 Member: $42.50
Romare Bearden By: David C. Driskell, Ruth Fine, Frank Stewart
Item#2970 Price: $39.95 Member: $33.95
Over The Line: The Life and Work of Jacob Lawrence By: Peter T. Nesbett (Editor) and Michelle Dubois (Editor)
2005 Wall Calendars
Special Edition Holiday Card

James VanDerZee (1886-1983) Christmas Morning, 1933 Collection of The Studio Museum in Harlem, Gift of the Sandor Family Collection, Chicago Courtesy of Donna Mussenden VanDerZee Box Set: 10 cards (same) / 11 Envelopes Price $18.00 Member $15.30
African American Art Wall Calendar Black Ball Betye Saar Romare Bearden
Item#3229 Price:$13.99 Member: $11.89
Item # 2180 Price: $13.99 Member: $11.89
Basquiat
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news
Fall Winter 200506 Donors

Special Thanks The Studio Museum in Harlem thanks the following donors for their generous support during the last quarter (Gifts of $1,000 and above only). $500,000 and above New York City Department of Cultural Affairs $499,999 to $100,000 Carnegie Corporation of New York New York State Council of the Arts $99,999 to $50,000 Horace W.Goldsmith Foundation New York Community Trust Peter Norton Family Foundation The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts $49,999 to $25,000 Kathryn C. Chenault MetLife Foundation Time Warner Inc. $24,999 to $10,000 Clifford L. Alexander Bank of America The Barker Welfare Foundation The Cowles Charitable Trust Goldman Sachs & Co. The Greenwall Foundation Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust New York Stock Exchange Foundation, Inc. In Memory of Joyce A. Wein (as of 9/15/05) $9,999 to $5,000 Arts Intern Jennifer McSweeney and Peter Reuss The Moodys Foundation Morgan Stanley Foundation Denise Murrell $4,999 to $1,000 Corey Baylor Kathyrn C. Chenault Corcoran Group Real Estate Gordon J. Davis Herman Goldman Foundation David Alan Grier Gail Knox Midtown Payson Galleries Walter R. Morris-Hale
Development News
Whats New In Membership
Hallie S. Hobson, associate development director for membership and donor relations and Robert K. Brown, membership associate/database administrator have just joined the membership department at the Studio Museum. Always ready to meet your membership needs, Hallie oversees membership programs at the museum, including the Contemporary Friends, Directors Circle, and Curators Circle groups, among other duties. And Robert is ready to make sure that you have your membership card and that your recordsand dues! are up-to-date. Hallie and Robert are happy to speak with you about the museum, answer your questionsand, of course, sign you up for a membership level thats right for you. They can be reached at (212) 864-4500 x221, hhobson@studio museum.org, or rbrown@studiomuseum.org. Arceneaux exhibition at The Kitchen, a private tour of the Frequency exhibition, and a special viewing of El Museo de Barrios biennial The S Files. Of course, all of these donor groups can look forward to a variety of tours, receptions, and special perks throughout the year. To become a member, please contact Hallie S. Hobson at (212) 864-4500 x244 or hhobson@studiomuseum.org.
Yes! I want to be a member of The Studio Museum in Harlem.

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Special Year-end Savings

Mark your calendars: members-only shopping days will be held on Monday, December 5 and Tuesday, December 13 from 3PM to 8PM. Enjoy exclusive access to the museum shop and receive special discounts, just in time to stock up on holiday gifts.
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Special Membership Groups Directors Circle $2,500
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Membership Has Its...

Becoming a member of the Directors Circle, the Curators Circle, or the Contemporary Friends opens up a world of special events and benets designed to increase access to artists and the art world. In October, the Directors and Curators Circles enjoyed a private reception with artist Yinka Shonibare on the occasion of his new exhibition Mobility at the James Cohan Gallery, and members can also look forward to their annual dinner with the Director coming up this spring. The Contemporary Friends kicked off the 2005/2006 season with a cocktail party and tour of the home of contemporary art collector Peter Norton. Other planned events this season include a preview event of the Edgar
Contemporary Friends Couple $300 Individual $200
General Membership Groups Benefactor $1,000 Donor $500 Associate $250 Supporter $100 Family/Partner $75 Individual $50 Student $20
Ask a Security Ofcer Nola Grant

1. Do you believe life imitates art, or does art imitate life? How? Why? Being an artist, I believe my art imitates my life. I use a lot of my lifes events in my art. I believe life is the greatest source for art. 2. If you could curate your own show, what would the title be? Why? If I had my own show, it would be called Art Eye Candy Fashions. All of the artists would be unknown fashion designers. Its time that the art world and the fashion world collaborate to make beautiful music for your eyes. 3. What single work of art has made the greatest impression on you? Bill Traylors Exciting Events Exhibit has made the greatest impression on me. This single work has given me the motivation to become an artist in my own right. Traylors artwork takes me to another place and timehis life on Monroe Street in Montgomery, A.L. Photo by Ronny Quevedo
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Thank you for your support and welcome to The Studio Museum in Harlem! The Studio Museum in Harlem offers the best way to explore Black culture and the latest trends in contemporary art!
General Membership

Individual $50 (Fully tax-deductible) Free admission for one. 5% discount on all museum store purchases. Members-only discount shopping days. Members discount on select education and public programs. Invitations to opening reception of exhibitions. New! Discounts at select Harlem restaurants. Family/Partner $75
Special Membership Groups

Members of the Directors Circle and Curators Circle are the highest level of individual membership and the starting point for people with increased interest in access to artists and the art world. These exclusive membership groups have been instrumental in contributing to the success of SMH and provide vital support for the museums exhibitions and programs.
Directors Circle $2,500 ($2,135 tax-deductible) Visits to private collectors homes and/or viewings of their collections. Behind-the-scenes tours and talks with art connoisseurs and curators. Annual dinner with Director. Advanced announcement of special travel programs organized by SMH. Invitations to unique events for Directors Circle only. Curators Circle $1,500
Visitor Information
Address 144 West 125th Street New York, New York 10027(between Malcolm X and Adam C. Powell Jr. Blvds.) General Info phone: 212.864.4500 fax: 212.864.4800 Media Contact 212.864.4500 x213 pr@studiomuseum.org
Public Programs Info
Studio /Hours Fall Winter 200506 Museum WednesdayFriday, 126pm Saturday, 10am6pm Sunday, 126pm
The Museum is closed on Monday, Tuesday and major holidays.
Admission Suggested donation: $7 (adults), $3 (seniors and students). Free for members and children (12 and under). First Saturdays are FREE! www.studiomuseum.org
(Fully tax-deductible) All the preceding benets, plus: Free admission for two adults at the same address and children under 18 years of age.
Supporter $100
($70 tax-deductible) All the preceding benets, plus: One complimentary ticket to an education or public program.
Associate $250
212.864.4500 x264
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subway:
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($200 tax-deductible) All the preceding benets, plus: Special gift. Free admission for one guest when accompanied by a member.
Donor $500 ($425 tax-deductible) All the preceding benets, plus: One complimentary copy of an SMH catalogue. Four guest passes for friends and families. Annual invitation to a behind-thescenes tour of an SMH exhibition led by a museum curator. Benefactor $1,000 ($835 tax-deductible) All the preceding benets, plus: Special invitations to Benefactors behind-the-scenes tour of SMH exhibitions led by the shows curator. One complimentary catalogue from a major SMH exhibition. Two complimentary tickets to an education or public program. Free admission for two guests when accompanied by a member. Student $20 (Fully tax-deductible) A copy of valid student ID must be submitted with membership application of renewal. Free admission for one. 15% discount on all museum store purchases. Members-only discount shopping days. Members discount on select education and public programs. Invitations to opening reception of exhibitions.
($1,285 tax-deductible) A visit to a private collectors home and/or tour. Behind-the-scenes tours and talks with art connoisseurs and curators. Annual dinner with Chief Curator. Advanced announcement of special travel programs organized by SMH.
Contemporary Friends (ages 2140) Contemporary Friends is a dynamic membership group of young professionals who contribute to many new and exciting initiatives at SMH. The Contemporary Friends represent the future in charitable giving at the museum. Members host an annual spring benet to raise funds to support education and public programs. In return for their support, Contemporary Friends receive Individual members benets, plus: Discount tickets to Contemporary Friends Spring Benet. Guided galleries tours. An exclusive program of activities and special events. Behind-the-scenes tours of SMH exhibitions. Individual $200 ($175 tax-deductible) Couple/Partner $300 ($250 tax-deductible) (For two people at the same address) Matching Gifts Do you work for a company that has a matching gift program? If so, you can increase your gift to The Studio Museum in Harlem by simply requesting a matching gift program form from your employer.
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to 125 Street. bus: M-2, M-7, M-10, M-100, M-102 or BX-15. Parking is available at the Municipal Garage at 126th Street between Malcolm X and Adam C. Powell Jr. Boulevards.
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Studio is published three times a year by The Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 West 125th St., New York, NY 10027. Copyright 2005 Studio Magazine. All material is compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but published without responsibility for errors or omissions. Studio assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. All rights, including translation into other languages, are reserved by the publisher. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher.
/ Fall Winter 200506

Studio Magazine Fall/Winter 2005-06

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Studio Magazine Fall/Winter 2005-06

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The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine / Fall Winter 200506

From the Director

SMH Board of Trustees

The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine / Fall Winter 200506

02 / whats up Frequency / Harlem Postcards 14 / upcoming exhibitions Energy

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Frequency: November 9, 2005 March12, 2006

Till Courtesy of Inman Gallery, Houston, TX 2003/2005 02 / Rodney

chair Collection of Gaby and Wilhelm Schuermann, Aachen, Germany 2003 04

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Corner Cutters 2005

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

02 01 / Kwabena Span 2004

Bale Variant No. 0006 2005 10 / Lester Julian Meredith 2005

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

The Centaurs Kiss 2005 02 / Mickalene

Untitled (Crusade Fragments) (1 of 9) 2005

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

04 / Kianga Ford Urban Revival 2005 05 / Michael

Flight of Shelves 2005 06 / Adam

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

The Hotel Theresa (after James VanDerZee) 2005

the coolest nigga you never did see 2005

03 / Adia Millett You used to be my lover 2005

Gold Crush (Barry in West Harlem) 2005

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Africa Comics November 8, 2006 March 18, 2007

Meet the Studio Museum Artists-in-Residence 20052006

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

1968, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

1980, Los Angeles, C.A.

1971, Baltimore, M.D.

elsewhere: art beyond SMH

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

elsewhere: art beyond SMH

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Completely Biased, Entirely Opinionated Hot Picks By Thelma Golden

er-Hewitt . Shonibare is the third guest curator in a series

Heres some must-see exhibitions that Im not going to miss!

elsewhere: art beyond SMH

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

photographed by Grant Therkildsen 2005 02 / Ground Zero:

Anthony Meucci 1920 05 / Malcolm X On

Thornton Dial Sr. 2002

03 / Mama Can Sing Faith Ringgold 2004

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST

Rujeko Hockley, Curatorial Assistant

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

ZO CHARLTON NYAME BROWN MIKE CLOUD

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

Studio / Fall Winter 200506

A fragmented history that sits upon the throne of desire.