History of Art

On Friday, I noticed new things about the Creative Africa exhibit and I learned quite a bit about its background. To begin with, I took a closer look at the things that I skimmed, or just quickly glanced over on my first visit. The photography exhibit was the place I spent the most time in. I didn’t notice the music before and this time, I felt as if it added a different layer to the room. It warmed up the display and seemed to invite conversation. A panel told me that the photographers were asked to recommend songs for this exhibit’s playlist (find it online: http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/844.html) to give visitors an added sense of the cities.

i'm a fan of anything that chooses to use art as a tool to deconstruct false narratives. i love colors and knowing when to use them and when to not. kris is such a thoughtful speaker too, something i gleaned at the opening at 5 when i overheard him talking about where he comes from and how he's inspired to do what he does. damnnnn to be able to convert passion to profession!! 

I loooooooved the Kris Graves exhibit! I went to the opening at five and stayed until they kicked us out because I was having so much fun talking to him, his mom, and the Bryn Mawr staff and students who were there. I also loved his talk. He was so much fun to listen to. I loved hearing about his process and his background. It's amazing how an entire lifetime can be put into a peice of work. I loved seeing his transition from an amature photographer who was playing around with his friends to an artist who is trying to reshape how black people are seen in the world. He reminds me of themanwholovedflowers, which is an instagrammer who has a photo series with a similar concept to Graves'. He uses flowers to challenge the stereotypes of black men.

I had many thoughts on Kris Graves' talk today and of the exhibition generally, but I want to focus now on the shared space that we have with him. What does it mean to juxtapose The Testament Project with African art/ifacts? I think that although we are not curating the space of The Testament Project and have our own space to focus on, I think that we should consider the fact that they occupy the same space. Their messages will inherently be connected by visitors, no? 

In this same vein, what does it do to have M Carey Thomas' massive portrait grimly greet people as they enter this space? And set right next to the radiant portrait of Jessica? Two steps in after that is our exhibition. Just some stuff to keep in mind as we plan. 

i asked kris graves how he stayed true to his subjects -- how he dealt with portraying friends and family. it was a very vague question and i wasn't exactly sure what i was looking for i just knew that i wanted to know more about the way that he photographed people, and the way he told their stories/let them tell their own stories.

I think what impressed me the most about this project, and just Kris Graves as an artist is his ability to make his work simple. I spoke with him a little bit during our class tour (Thanks Monique + Nyasa!!) and the point that stuck the most that this isn't his day job. He does his work to capture the story, to capture the moment and memory of his loved ones and friends. He told me when artists make art just to sell it, the beauty of it and magic of it becomes complicated. One of the main reasons why I hesitate to share my work or even call myself anything close to an artist is because I'm afraid of getting caught up in the label and brand of it. I appreciated how he didn't do that and clearly showed that he creates his work from a basic standpoint, that it is something he loves to do.

Portraits are interesting in that most time they show us much more about the photographer than the photographed. Even if the portraits are taken within the subjects homes, the artist chooses how to frame the picture, how to light it, where the subject should stand and how they should look. By giving his subjects agency over a small aspect of this production - the color of the lighting - Kris Graves allows us to see them as they want to be seen. We aren't seeing the artist's idea of how their subject should be seen but the subject as they see themselves. Plus the colors are absolutely beautiful.

Here are some of my notes from the lecture... I am still thinking about the desire to show black men as "undangerous..." I am thinking about a study W.E.B Du Bois conducted called "Morals and Manners among Negro Americans"... I am thinking about representation, presentation, character, conduct. I will add more to this in class hopefully.

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"blackness is a relationship with the Bottom" ..... I want to talk about this

I enjoyed listening to Kris Graves speak about his background and his beginnings in photography. In his talk and in his exhibit, I picked up on what I thought were common themes of frankness and gratitude that permeated his words and work. I was given the impression that Graves strives for bluntness and honesty, and I think that this is demonstrated in his demeanor and his photos. He was not afraid to admit who in the art world was an "asshole," or how common it is for museums and galleries to lose money, or that he didn't always know how to interact with subjects ("I didn't want to be a man shooitng women"). I think it was also significant that throughout his talk, he frequently gave credit to his influences, his colleagues, his teachers, his family, his friends, and his luck.

            I was honestly stunned and caught off guard throughout Kris Graves’ talk, looking at his powerful photographs and the video on macroaggressions. He was very honest, funny, thoughtful, and political. The depth to which he portrayed black people and their complexities in the Testament Project was powerful. The people were portrayed as complex beings with multi-layered personalities who are real and alive. Their physical bodies testified to a resistance- being, embodying, and presenting and being presented with enriching colors. In this day and age, the physicality, the bodies name a permance and a resistance to genocide and the destruction of the black body. The emotions and visceral responses that he is able to evoke in people is moving.