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“Ashe to Amen: African Americans and Biblical Imagery”

Leslie King-Hammond

Leslie King-Hammond opened recently as guest curator at MOBIA in Manhattan with “Ashe to Amen— African Americans and Biblical Imagery at the Museum of Biblical Art in New York City”. “Ashe”, a Yoruba word, refers to the creative power of an artist to make something happen. “Amen” is an affirmation meaning essentially “so be it” also implying that ‘it’ has been done and done well! This is the feeling that I came away with from much of the work in this exhibition. The beautiful piece by Chester Higgins probably most exemplifies this idea…quiet and understated from the first encounter but then growing in statue and power before your very eyes as you see the deeper significance.

Leslie King-Hammond has curated numerous exhibitions including the very imaginative ‘The Global Africa Project’ which explored the impact of African visual culture on contemporary art, craft and design around the world at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Dr. King-Hammond has garnered such prestigious awards as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Studio Museum in Harlem, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Art Caucus-College Art Association, and in 2010 the Alain Locke International Prize, among many others.

The Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA) provides a beautiful venue for this work. The stated objective of the museum is to ‘provide to the public an interpretation of art through the lens of biblical religions and an understanding of religion through its artistic manifestations’. I believe that this philosophical approach will become increasingly relevant over the coming years and that this venue will benefit greatly from this approach.

Organized by MOBIA, “Ashe to Amen: African Americans and Biblical Imagery” will be on view at MOBIA February 15 – May 26, 2013; at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture June 22 – September 29, 2013; and at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens October 20, 2013 – January 5, 2014.

Major support for MOBIA’s exhibitions and programs has been provided by American Bible Society and by Howard and Roberta Ahmanson. “Ashe to Amen: African Americans and Biblical Imagery” is made possible by the generous support of New York Theological Seminary, the National Endowment for the Arts, Jim and LaFaye Lewis, New York Amsterdam News, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Support for children’s educational programs is provided, in part, by TD Charitable Foundation.

Washington Square Park – Manhattan

The land that is now Washington Square Park was given to freed African Americans in 1643 by the original Dutch settlers..
The land that is now Washington Square Park was given to freed formerly enslaved African Americans in 1643 by the original Dutch settlers.

The Park is an open space, dominated by Washington Arch (1892), with a tradition of celebrating nonconformity. The Park’s fountain area has long been one of the city’s popular spots for residents and tourists. The land here was divided by a narrow marshy valley through which Minetta Creek ran. In the early 17th century, a Native American village known as Sapokanikanor “Tobacco Field” was nearby. The Native Americans also owned the land known now as Washington Square Park before the Dutch attacked and drove them out. By the mid-17th century, the land on each side of the Minetta was used as farm land by the Dutch. The Dutch gave the land to their slaves, thus freeing them, with the intention of using them as a human ‘buffer zone’ between (the attacks of) the Native Americans and the white colonial settlements. The formerly enslaved African Americans who received the land were told that, although they were no longer slaves, they had to give a portion of the profits they received from the land to the Dutch East India Company. Also, their children would be born as slave, rather than free. The tract was in the possession of African Americans from 1643 to 1664. Today, the area, then called “The Land of the Blacks,” is Washington Square Park. The ex-slaves who owned “The Land of the Blacks” included Paulo D’angola.

Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City’s 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres (39,500 m2), it is a landmark in the Manhattanneighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity.

Envisioning Emancipation – Presentation, Discussion, and Book Signing at The Schomburg Center

Professors Krauthamer and Hammer
Professors Barbara Krauthamer and Deb Willis appeared  on February 1 at the International Center for Photography in New York for a book signing for their new book Envisioning Emancipation: African Americans and the End of  Slavery.

 Deb Willis and Barbara Krauthamer will appear at the Schomburg Center on February 4th at 6:00 PM for a presentation, discussion, and book signing for the new book, Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery. Envisioning Emancipation- produces and encourages the view of African American courage and heroism under 240 years of enslavement in the americas. This view denies the post-enslavement version promoted in classical american history. The very highly regarded book has been in high demand throughout the United States since its formal release on January 1, 2013.

Visualizing Emancipation– an exhibition of civil war era photographs curated by Dr. Willis is also on display at the Schomburg Center until March 9, 2013.

The authors will also appear for book signings on Thursday, February 7th at the Philadelphia Free Library in Philadelphia, Pa.

BLACK PORTRAITURE[S]: BLACK BODIES IN THE WEST/ CONFERENCE UPDATE

Ecole Nationale Superieure des Baux-Arts/14 Rue Napoleon/Paris, France
Ecole Nationale Superieure des Baux-Arts/14 Rue Napoleon/Paris, France

‘Black Portraiture[s]: Black Bodies in the West’ The fifth conference in the series opened January 17, 2013 at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beau-arts/ 14 Rue Bonaparte/ Paris, France. The registration exceeded all expectations. On a very cold day in Paris all panels were full and the presentations were attended by standing room only conferees. According to the producers:

  • The conference launch was a resounding success, boasting over 350 local and international attendees from Tunisia and Canada, Angola and Denmark, South Africa and Spain. We are thrilled at the turnout and inspired by such lively discussion.

The second session opens today January 18 at 9:00 AM and registration continues until 5:00 PM.

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Conference Registration – Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The producers  have chosen the beautiful École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSB-A), the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France as the site for registration.  Throughout history, many world-renowned artists have either taught or studied at this institution.

Panelists on January 18 include:

Cheryl Finley, Cornell University:

Pamela Newkirk, NYU

Roshini Kempadoo, University of London

Isolde Brielmaieer, Chief Curator, SCAD Museum of Art/SCAD Galleries: Chair

Carrie Mae Weems, Artist, JackShainman Gallery, New York

Mark Anthony Neal, Professor of Black Popular Culture, Duke University

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Conference Attendees Listen to a Presenter

Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Seattle Art Museum, Chair

Robert O’meally, Columbia University

Mimi Plange, Fashion Designer

Michaela Angela Davis, Writer fashion expert and image activist

and many others from throughout the western world.

 

‘Black Portraiture(s): The Black Body in the West’

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The Champs Elysee at the Arc de Triumph

NYU Professor Dr. Deborah Willis is among the principal organizers and collaborators to produce ‘Black Portraiture(s): The Black Body in the West’ in Paris, France January 17-20, 2013. The conference is sponsored by Harvard University and NYU among others.   Over 500 scholars and artists have registered to attend. Participants and guests are expected to arrive from many countries including France, US, UK, Germany, Nigeria, Angola, SA, Netherlands and the Caribbean. This conference will be the fifth in the series since 2004.

Black Portraiture(s) explores the ideas of self-representation, desire, and the exchange of the gaze from the 19th century to the present day in fashion, film, art, and the archives. How are these images, both positive and negative, presented to define, replicate, and transform the black body? Why and how does the black body become a purchasable commodity in a global marketplace…and what are its legacies? Also importantly, what should be the responses and implications for the future? How can performing blackness be more liberating for performer and audience? Can the black body be de-racialized to emphasize cultural groupings in encouraging appropriation among varied performers across racial lines?

The conference draws on the ideas and works of leading and emerging writers, photographers, scholars, artists, curators and filmmakers of our time. One aim is to encourage a broader discussion of the contributions from Africa and the African diaspora in the popular discourse. How the black body has been imagined in the West has always been a rich site for global examination and contestation. The representation and depiction of black peoples has  often been governed by locally prevailing attitudes about race and sexuality.

It is both important and significant that this project represents the collaboration among such a diverse group of distinguished international scholars, artists, and intellectuals.

 Event Organizers: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Deborah Willis, Manthia Diawara, Jean-Paul Colleyn, Lydie Diakhate, Awam Amkpa, Chery Finley, Anne-Christine Taylor-Descola, Anna Laban, Christine Barthe, Caroline Montel-Glenisson, Raissa Laheine, Thelma Golden, and Nicholas Bourriaud.