Nick Cave | Art Basel Miami 2012 Series [1]

This year's Art Basel Miami was its eleventh edition and its representation of African American, Carribean Diaspora, and African Diaspora artists is described as the best in Basel's history. In this post series, I present some black artists featured at Art Basel Miami 2012.

Nick Cave is a fabric sculptor, dancer, and performance artist best known for his Soundsuits which are colourful, often whimsical wearable fabric sculptures. Typical materials used in the sculptures include twigs, dyed human hair, plastic buttons, beads, sequins, and feathers.

Left: Soundsuit, 2011, mixed media, 86 x 48 x 39 inches, NC11.036

Right: Soundsuit, 2008, Mixed media

Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth (travelling exhibition), 
Seattle Art Museum, Washington, 2011. 

Watch an interview with Nick Cave below:

Follow the series:

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye | Art Basel Miami 2012 Series [2]

Julie Mehretu | Art Basel Miami 2012 Series [3]
Yinka Shonibare | Art Basel Miami 2012 Series [4]

Jane Alexander | Surveys (From the Cape of Good Hope)

Surveys (From the Cape of Good Hope) was an exhibition of sculptures by Jane Alexander, a South African artist. The exhibition was organized by the Museum for African Art (MfAA), supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, and guest curated by Pep Subiros. Jane Alexander’s sculptures are described as "hybrid mutants that speak to the porous borders between humans and other forms of animal life". "Alexander acts as a surveyor mapping the forces, interests, and passions at play in human behavior. Her sculptures, installations, and photomontages are firmly rooted in her South African experience. Alexander’s body of work throws into relief the asymmetric relations and practices that preclude access for so many people to a free and dignified existence".

Jane Alexander is also known for a previous sculpture installation entitled, "Butcher Boys". I did not enjoy this collection because its combination of naked ribbed human bodies and horned heads was too raw and dark for me. Viewer discretion might be advised for young viewers as it might be frightening.

I enjoyed Surveys (From the Cape of Good Hope) a lot more. The figures in this collection seem a lot more human and relatable. As a viewer I feel intrigued and eager to understand the stories of Alexander's creatures. The combination of human and animal features also reminds me of Frank Ocean who uses similar figures with the head of a panda and lion. It makes one wonder how these could be related. In the past, I haven't seen or paid so much attention to themes of the relationship between animals and humans, but I'm curious to see other depictions and what they could mean.

Sources: Huffington Post, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

Kara Walker | Complex Silhouettes

At first glance, Kara Walker's artwork may resemble illustrations of a children's fairytale. However Walker's art is complex and Walker is described as one of few who have been able to powerfully and provocatively address issues of race, sex, and the history of slavery.

As a result of her mesmerizing work, Kara Walker won a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" at 28 (one of the youngest-ever recipients), a spot on Time magazine's 100 Most Influential list, and exhibitions at some of the most respected museums in the US. 

The Listening Room | Installation by Theaster Gates

I first came across Theaster Gates' work in a feature post by Arise. The exhibition that fascinated me most was The Listening Room, which was on exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum from December 2011 to July 2012.

The installation included a collection of vinyl albums, a DJ made out of an old church pew, and a record player. The vinyl albums were from Chicago's Dr Wax record store, once renowned for showcasing music by black recording artists. As part of the installation experience, the audience was invited to listen to the sounds of Martin Luther King Jr, James Brown and Isaac Brothers while examining a piece of work on the history of the Civil Rights movement.

Although I haven't been exposed to installations as much as I have been to fine art pieces and short films, I have a deep appreciation of this particular installation. The recycled old church pew and its symbolism as the center piece holding together the installation is very resonating. As an fan of "old music", I would have really enjoyed the experience of The Listening Room. Reading about this work has opened my eyes to the artistic value that installations can also have for an audience.

For more on the article by Arise, click here.

For more on Theaster Gates, visit his website here.

Yinka Shonibare | Art Basel Miami 2012 Series [4]

This year's Art Basel Miami was its eleventh edition and its representation of African American, Carribean Diaspora, and African Diaspora artists is described as the best in Basel's history. In this post series, I present some black artists featured at Art Basel Miami 2012.

Yinka Shonibare's recent exhibition at Art Basel 2012 consisted of figures called Revolution kid (fox) and Revolution kid (calf). Designboom described the pieces saying, "...the artist gives the human bodies the head of either a young fox or cow in order to express the timeliness and particularities of a youthful rebellion. [Furthermore], this theatrical installation draws attention to both a postcolonial relationship between Africa and Europe, highlighting  the economic disparity between the two continents, while also speaking to the youth of both regions as the tools of emancipation, violence and globalization are displayed hands of each figure."

From top to bottom: "Revolution kid (fox)"; "Revolution kid (calf)"

Wide Open Walls | Living Art in Gambia

Wide Open Walls was an initiative to create art installations in Mandina, Gambia to promote the region as a tourist destination. One of the most important goals of the project was to "create connections between the street artists and the communities through mural painting, and art workshops." The artists included Bushdwellers (Gambia), ROA (Belgium), Know Hope (Israel), Remed (Madrid), TIKA (Switzerland), Freddy Sam (South Africa), Selah (South Africa), and Best Ever (UK).

via CreativeRoots

Ivan Puig: Unsinkable Art

An installation by Spanish artist Ivan Puig

ADA: Drawings by a balloon

"«ADA» is.. an interactive art-making machine. Filled up with helium, and floating freely in room, a transparent, membrane-like globe, spiked with charcoals leaves marks on the walls, ceilings and floors.  The globe put in action, fabricates a composition of lines and points, which remains incalculable in their intensity, expression, form however hard the visitor tries to control «ADA», to drive her, to domesticate her. " -  Arnd Wesemann, 2010

Ada, the installation by Karina Smigla-Bobinski, is being exhibited at the FILE festival in Sao Paulo. The balloon has a diameter of 2.5 metres with the charcoal pieces attached 30 centimetres apart.