Romi

Speaking of People: Ebony Jet and Contemporary Art

2014 · réf. 209312 — New York: The Studio Museum in Harlem 2014. Hardcover. As new. Quarto. Hardcover. Bound in red cloth with white stamped titles and b&w photo pasted off center to the front board. 109 pages : illustrations some color ; 28 cm. "'Speaking of People: Ebony Jet and Contemporary Art' explores the ways contemporary artists use 'Ebony' and 'Jet' as a resource and as inspiration in their practices. Published by Johnson Publishing Company for over sixty years both magazines are cultural touchstones for many African Americans and often represent a commonality between people of diverse backgrounds. Considering 'Ebony' and 'Jet' from a variety of perspectives -- as journalistic material and important documenters of Black life as metaphor for African-American culture and as theoretical spaces for Black thought and exchange -- the exhibition examines the magazines’ material and cultural legacy as artists perceive them. While much of the work in the exhibition utilizes 'Ebony' and 'Jet' imagery and text as source material for some the concept of these iconic publications and their institutional histories provides the starting point for artistic production. As popular widely-circulated print publications the magazines ushered in a particular phenomenon of collection and display in Black domestic spaces. Somewhat analogously many of the artists included in 'Speaking of People' maintain their own personal archives of these iconic publications. The first exhibition devoted to this topic 'Speaking of People' features over thirty works by a multi-generational interdisciplinary group of sixteen artists. 'Speaking of People' includes photography painting sculpture and sound works that will occupy the Museum’s Main galleries and Project Space. Artists in the exhibition include Noel Anderson Jeremy Okai Davis Godfried Donkor Ellen Gallagher Theaster Gates Lyle Ashton Harris David Hartt Leslie Hewitt Glenn Ligon Kerry James Marshall Ayanah Moor Lorna Simpson Martine Syms Hank Willis Thomas Mickalene Thomas and Purvis Young. Accompanying the exhibition will be a fully illustrated exhibition catalogue with essays by Assistant Curator Lauren Haynes ; scholars Siobhan Carter-David Romi Crawford and Elizabeth Alexander ; artist Hank Willis Thomas ; as well as a foreword by Studio Museum Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden. The publication is designed by The Original Champions of Design New York."--. The Studio Museum in Harlem hardcover