{"id":10096,"date":"2019-01-23T18:51:31","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T23:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=10096"},"modified":"2019-01-23T19:02:49","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T00:02:49","slug":"sun-ra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2019\/01\/23\/sun-ra\/","title":{"rendered":"The Earth Expedition Of Sun Ra, Jazz Visionary And Afrofuturist Pioneer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThere\u2019s no limit to the things that you can do,\u201d go the lyrics to jazz visionary Sun Ra\u2019s \u201cSpace Is the Place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis exhibition highlights Sun Ra\u2019s idea of an \u2018altered destiny,\u2019 a utopian belief that a more meaningful and just world awaits humanity in Outer Space,\u201d write the organizers of \u201cMonuments: The Earth Expedition of Sun Ra\u201d at the Portland Art Museum in Oregon<\/a> from Oct. 26, 2018, to Jan. 27, 2019. \u201cTo Sun Ra, Outer Space was not an escapist fantasy\u2014it was a place where society, culture, and systems are reimagined to give power to the oppressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibition\u2014featuring original album art, vintage photos, and instruments\u2014is part of the museum\u2019s \u201cWe.Construct.Marvels.Between.Monuments.\u201d series, in this instance organized by Libby Werbel in partnership with Portland-based group Deep Underground (Bethlehem Daniel, Madenna Ibrahim, Mia O\u2019Connor-Smith, and Janessa Narciso).<\/p>\n

\"\u201cPortrait<\/a>
\u201cPortrait of Sun Ra,\u201d 1974, by Jim Newman. (Courtesy Portland Art Museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With monuments to the racist Civil War Confederacy being taken down across the United States, the exhibition comes out of a question: \u201cWhat are the new monuments we wish to build? Who are the artists, thinkers, and heroes we wish to exalt and preserve for future generations? \u2018Monuments\u2019 upholds Sun Ra as one of these visionary figures,\u201d organizers write.<\/p>\n