30 AMERICANS @ The Corcoran

30 AMERICANS @ the Corcoran

There is something lively; something wonderful, something engaging on view at the Corcoran (DC). That something is an incomparable exhibition composed actually of 31 artists/creators. Interestingly enough this portion of the Rubell family’s art collection happens to feature works from artists exclusively of African American decent. At different times past a similar exhibition would have been titled “Thirty Negro Artist, Thirty Afro-American Artists or Thirty Black Americans.”  We are presented interestingly enough “30 Americans” because we are (arguably) in the Post-Black period of American/World history. This is a good thing; we can finally look at and perceive the works as purely esthetics or we can interject the racial/nationality factor as we choose or as the given artist chooses accordingly. These are great times indeed and this is a great exhibition!        



Iona Rozeal Brown_Sacrafice #2
courtesy of Rubell Family Collection



Rashid Johnson_The New Negro
Escapist Social and Athletic Club
courtesy of Rubell Family Collection

Among the featured are many of my personal favorites: Kehinde Wiley (the” Prince” of Painters), Kerry James Marshal (the Dean), Jean- Michel Basquiat (the Rebel), Carrie Mae Weems (the Lovely), Kara Walker (the Provocative) and Nick Cave (the Entertainer). All incredible; as magnificent as they are unique…this is what contemporary art is; art without boundaries or singular definition.

This exhibition is of a pivotal moment in history reflecting a definite shift in the way art will be viewed for years to come. Works and artists that were once marginalized are now at the fore-front and making bold statements “Saying it Loud” as is one of the many themes of “30 AMERICANS.”  The central piece of the exhibition and most talked about is Wiley’s “Sleeping” (h132 x w300in.)




Kehinde Wiley_Sleeping_courtesy of The Rubell Family Collection

 

This colossus of a figurative piece is magnificently rendered, exquisite in detail and equally subtle. The basis of Wiley’s work is rooted in those of Baroque Europe practically as practiced by the Spanish masters; Velasquez, de Ribera and Murillo. The same regality and grandeur is also rooted in much of the sculpture, fabrics and objects found in African pieces from the same era. Only a maestro of Wiley’s expertise and talent could orchestrate this visual symphony of a painting. It is a thing spectacular.







Jean-Michel Basquiat_Bird On Money
courtesy of The Rubell Family Collection

 



Carrie Mae Weems
From Here I Saw What
Happened and I Cried
courtesy of The Rubell Family
Collection



Carrie Mae Weems
From Here I Saw What
Happened and I Cried
courtesy of The Rubell Family
Collection

30 AMERICANS features over seventy works ranging from the sublime to the challenging of depiction and content; again the essence of contemporary art. Mixed-Medium, found objects, video, photography, and instillation are on view and each well represented. You will leave it enthralled and invigorated. This show can only be fully experienced in the flesh, in person. It is a very intimate thing; a thing to enjoy.

The ML King Memorial

Sunday (September 11, 2011) marked the tenth anniversary of an horrific and unparelled   American tragedy. It will now also mark my family’s first visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington DC. To attack any part of America as on Nine Eleven Two-Thousand One is to attack all of America. Our visit to the newly   opened King Memorial was at least a personal statement expressing our American “Freedom from Fear.” Our freedoms will not be easily taken from us. There have been too many battles fought for our freedoms. Martin Luther King lived; fought and died for the freedoms of all Americans. His weapon of choice was non-violence. It proved to be a most powerful weapon. He changed the hearts and minds of men and women and won a lasting, ever vigilant peace.  We will not embarrass his legacy by hiding from any unsubstantial threat. King’s Memorial is a fitting tribute to the freedoms that others would want to deny us. 

The Pentagon was struck a decade ago in 2001 and lives were lost. Washington is a very real target. There were threats made again this year; we answered the alleged threats by visiting a very public place; The King Memorial. It was an incredible, beautiful day…it is an incredible, immaculate monument.

The strength, commitment, intelligence and character of Martin Luther King Jr. are unquestionable. He is a deserving leader. Like all leaders he was not alone in his efforts. There were many other leaders; pivotal individuals and groups working in the “Civil Rights Movements.” Thurgood Marshal ; the dedicated lawyer, John Lewis; the student activist, Rosa parks; a woman that simply had had enough and James Peck; a freedom rider. These are a few names among the countless many who were equal parts of “The Movement” and share the glory of this massive monument. If you listen carefully you can hear their voices; feel their spirits, share their victories along with those of Dr. King’s. We are thankful for their truth and bravery; we cannot say nor do enough to honor their deeds.

                                                                                                              

I have spent a few hours around the tidal basin. The tidal basin is a small inlet of water surrounded by monuments: The Jefferson, The Roosevelt, and The Korean War reside there. You will find walkways and cherry trees that blossom brilliantly every spring. The King memorial is there now. The patriotic, the faithful and the curious are lured to the tidal basin daily and especially in spring. They are the seekers of truth, life and even something of the legendary. It is as intangible as a dream yet powerful enough to move mountains of hate and injustice…powerful enough to unite us all.

The Masterpiece

In every endeavor there are standards and benchmarks. There are those that far surpass the ordinary; the average, even going beyond the superlative. A level of excellence, technical proficiency and mystery is reached that can only be called mastery. The masterpiece is the physical incarnation and product of such a person we call “A Master”. Albrecht Durer is without argument among the few so blessed. The German born artist has been dubbed “The Leonardo of the North.”The incredible piece descriptively titled “The Hare” is one among the many masterpieces by his hand.  A work in many ways simple; a study of a hare, a common animal. In this depiction by Durer the ordinary, the common place is brilliantly, extraordinarily uncommon. We as viewers are able to see the fullness and beauty of the drawing of a creature that could be a science text book rendering. It goes beyond mere record of detail to the brink of life itself. Durer’s water color of a hare exists within nature; it is a wonder.

In his time Durer created paintings, drawings and among his still popular works are his etchings. They are definite reflections of the standards of his times; biblical, spiritual, heroic and often mystical. The standards set by these works are each an “Everest” of a sort. Yet here are contemporary artists that are very much the peers of the “Old Masters.”

 There are artist’s today that rival and are setting their personal extraordinary standards.  Artists who are in their way daring, driven and committed to the excellence found in the natural world. Two American artists thriving now are Jamie Wyeth and Walton Ford. They each are working almost exclusively from the natural world but possessing distinctive, original voices.

Jamie Wyeth is inspired almost exclusively from his local environment and the surroundings of his much beloved Chadds Ford Pennsylvania. The rocks, the grass, buildings, buoys and even the people he knows inhabit his heart, mind, soul and canvases. Like the masters of centuries past; including Durer, he has the scientist’s eye and the poet’s heart. His works are richly done expressions of elegance found in what to others would be the mundane. The ravens that dominate the birds of his home and hungry pigs are displayed equally; gloriously on his canvases. It was actually his “Portrait of a Pig” that brought Wyeth into prominence. “The Islander” is the title of his master work featuring an old seemingly knowing ram. The ram is gazing outward toward the sea with his lush fleece seemingly to blow in the wind. It is nothing less than spectacular.

The imagination and brushes of Walton Ford are much occupied with rewriting the book of natural history. His large, life sized watercolors are from an ardent observers view with a somewhat peculiar perspective. His works include a raging rhino in it’s last full moment of life going down in a sinking ship. Passenger pigeons breaking a limb under the sheer weight of their massive numbers and disgusting acts is another Ford master work.  A personal favorite I have of ford’s is his dynamic portrait of an Aurochs Bull; an extinct European breed.  Aurochs can be found in cave paintings and are still a symbol for many European countries and communities. The Aurochs were fierce, combative animals and Ford shows all the power and brutal force; the majesty the beast must have commanded. I had the absolute pleasure of viewing this portrait executed by Ford in triptych form at the Museum of American Art in DC. The scale alone is impressive 8’ x 13’ for a style of art usually seen as illustration or in print reproduction is amazingly impressive. The attention to detail, the perspective and the drama of the work is phenomenal and rarely captured in any medium.

When we think of Durer as a lasting “Master” for the ages his legacy is pretty much assured. He has sustained for about five centuries.  As for the longevity of the contemporary worlds Wyeth and Ford…we’ll see; as we await their next great works.