{"id":6257,"date":"2018-03-01T08:07:30","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T13:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=6257"},"modified":"2018-03-02T15:59:38","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T20:59:38","slug":"legacy-of-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2018\/03\/01\/legacy-of-cool\/","title":{"rendered":"Reenvisioning Black Pride And Identity In The Barkley Hendricks Tribute \u2018Legacy Of The Cool\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Connecticut painter Barkley Hendricks died in April 2017, there was an outpouring of praise on Instagram. Hendricks made his name in the 1960s and \u201870s by painting realist portraits of African-Americans as icons of Black Power, funk, urban cool. The artists he influenced are myriad, but perhaps chief among them is Kehinde Wiley, who just painted Barack Obama\u2019s presidential portrait.<\/p>\n

On Instagram, many black artists commented that seeing Barkley\u2019s work was the first time they felt they saw themselves in a museum.<\/p>\n

\"Barkley<\/a>
Barkley Hendricks “‘Toast’ of Amos,” 1966, oil on canvas. (Eduardo Rivera)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFor days after his death, all I saw was images of Barkely,\u201d says Massachusetts College of Art and Design Curatorial Associate Darci Hanna. \u201cAnd I was really struck by the profound influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

This inspired her to organize the exhibition \u201cLegacy of the Cool: A Tribute to Barkley L. Hendricks\u201d<\/a> at MassArt through March 3. (The title is an homage to Hendricks\u2019s 2008 retrospective exhibition<\/a>, which was called \u201cBirth of the Cool.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Featuring paintings and photos by Hendricks as well as work by 24 contemporary artists, the exhibition aims to connect some of the dots of these influences, as well as highlight how African-Americans are using their art to address what it means to be black in the United States today.<\/p>\n

Artworks range from a painting by Amy Sherald, who painted Michelle Obama\u2019s official First Lady portrait, to Rashid Johnson\u2019s nude photo self-portrait echoing one of Hendrick\u2019s classic paintings to Nona Faustine\u2019s photo of herself, nude, climbing the stairs of New York City\u2019s Tweed Courthouse (\u201cThis courthouse was built on an African-American burial ground,\u201d Hanna says).<\/p>\n

\u201cI was inspired to paint things that I didn\u2019t see within the art historical narrative,\u201d Sherald has said. \u201cThe images [of people who looked like me] weren\u2019t there. I understand the importance of being represented at a cultural level and being able to see reflections of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRepresentation matters. Still,\u201d Hanna says. \u201cIn general in the United States, we are not good at talking about these issues. My greatest hope is this exhibition starts discussions that are powerful and helpful. \u2026 These are things we need to be talking about more. Everyone. As a society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activism by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"Delphine<\/a>
Delphine Diallo “Highness \u2013 Hybrid 1,” 2011, collaboration with Joanne Petit-Fr\u00e9re, photograph on vinyl. (Courtesy MassArt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Delphine<\/a>
Delphine Diallo. \u201cHighness \u2013 Hybrid 5 (Collaboration with Joanne Petit-Fr\u00e9re),\u201d 2011. (Courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Delphine Diallo, a French-Senagalize artist living in Brooklyn, photographed portraits in collaboration with hairstylist Joanne Petit Frere, who turns real hair into astonishing sculptures.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Tiffany<\/a>
Tiffany Smith “A Woman, Phenomenally,” 2015, archival inkjet prints and custom vinyl wallpaper. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tiffany Smith, who grew up in the Bahamas, Jamaica and Miami, addresses how identity is constructed in her photos and wallpaper installations. \u201cPlaying with stereotypes of how these women perceive themselves and how they\u2019re perceived,\u201d Hanna says. \u201cThen she does a custom wall paper for each woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Ekua<\/a>
Ekua Holmes, “Southern Idyll–Root of Jesse,” 2012, collage on canvas. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ekua Holmes of Roxbury, assistant director of MassArt\u2019s Center for Art and Community Partnerships, depicts her grandfather in her 2012 artwork \u201cSouthern Idyll\u2014Root of Jesse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Steve<\/a>
Steve Locke, from the series “Killers,” 2017: “Dylan Roof (Right Mug Shot),” 2017, graphite on paper. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Steve<\/a>
Steve Locke, from the series “Killers,” 2017: “Dylan Roof (Right Mug Shot),” 2017, graphite on paper. (Courtesy MassArt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MassArt Professor Steve Locke has \u201cbeen obsessively drawing people who have been accused of killing unarmed black people,\u201d Hanna says. Including the murderers of James Bird in Texas, police officer Darren Wilson who killed Michael Brown, and Dylann Roof who walked into a South Carolina church with guns and massacred nine people. \u201cImages [Roof] going into the church, images of him leaving the church, images of him that pop up in the media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Hank<\/a>
Hank Willis Thomas “Faith,” 2017, fiberglass, chameleon auto paint finish. (Courtesy MassArt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hank Willis Thomas \u201cthinks a lot about sports in the African-American context,\u201d Hanna says. Is aiming for sports scholarships just chasing false prospects?<\/p>\n

\n
\"Zanele<\/a>
Zanele Muholi (from left) “Charmain Carroll, Parktown, Johannesburg,” 2013; “Bakhambile Skhosana, Natalspruit,” 2010; and “Zukiswa Gaca, Makhaza Khayelitsha, Cape Town,” 2010, gelatin silver prints. (Courtesy MassArt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Zanele Muholi has been photographing members of the black LGBTI community of South Africa. \u201cI embarked on a journey of visual activism to insure that there is black queer visibility,\u201d Muholi has said. \u201cCollectively, the portraits are at once a visual statement and an archive: marking, mapping and preserving an often invisible community for posterity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Ari<\/a>
Ari Montford “It’s Not My Color,” 2017. (Eduardo Rivera)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prescribed testosterone patches by his doctor, Boston artist Ari (James Montford) discovered they were manufactured in a \u201cflesh\u201d tone that\u2019s Caucasian, not his African-American brown. \u201cThere\u2019s so many assumptions about who has access to medical care, who deserves treatment,\u201d Hanna says. \u201cRacism in the medical system is a well-documented fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activism by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After Connecticut painter Barkley Hendricks died in April 2017, there was an outpouring of praise on Instagram. Hendricks made his name in the 1960s and \u201870s by painting realist portraits of African-Americans as icons of Black Power, funk, urban cool. The artists he influenced are myriad, but perhaps chief among them is Kehinde Wiley, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6257"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6311,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6257\/revisions\/6311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}