Isn't it romantic...
Happy Valentine’s Day weekend… did you get your sweetie something nice?
I’m just glad the gift I picked out for The Husband arrived on time. Happy Meet-Cute Day, everybody.
MLK Day: one step forward, two steps back
We’re approaching our first Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday after last summer’s protests of George Floyd’s murder. Can someone tell me where they think Black people in the arts are headed?
On the one hand, look at curator Naomi Beckwith’s career: she’s leaving Chicago for New York, to become the Guggenheim Museum’s new chief curator and deputy director. Starting in June 2021, Beckwith will oversee exhibitions and pretty much everything else the public experiences. Which is fantastic — I hope.
Curator Naomi Beckwith. (Photo credits: Tony Hisgett/ MCA Chicago/Guggenheim Museum NYC)
Yeah, she resigned her position last Friday. (No, I’m not going to name her.) The National Museum of Women in the Arts also dropped her from their advisory board. But she’d already served on the Ohio Arts Council since 2016, so… how many funding opportunities or leadership roles did artists of color miss out on, thanks to her influence?
Photo: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
I know, I know: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I imagine Dr. King is waiting for us at the other end of that arc. Maybe text him that we’re running late.
On my Christmas wish list
You don’t have to give me every artwork in this video for Christmas. I’m not greedy.
Whichever one you choose from my wish list, it’ll be the star of this wall. It’s 11.09 feet (3.38 meters high) by 9.12 feet (2.78 meters wide). So easy to fill!
Lemme help you out with a few more suggested presents:
Bisa Butler discusses “Three Kings” at Pulse Miami, 2018
“Three Kings” is only one of many breath-taking art quilts created by Bisa Butler. If her gallery’s already sold this piece, I would also accept “Zouave.” (Both are probably spoken for, but it never hurts to ask.)
“Saint Woman” (detail) by Amy Sherald, from “In This Imperfect Present Moment” at Seattle Art Museum
“Saint Woman” by Amy Sherald belongs to the Seattle Art Museum, but maybe you could acquire another portrait. “Freeing Herself Was One Thing, Taking Ownership of that Freed Self Was Another” might be available. If we position it properly, I’m sure we could fit two more pieces next to this one.
Textile work by Basil Kincaid at Design Miami, 2019 (from Mindy Solomon Gallery website)
Either one of these Basil Kincaid quilts would be amazing: “Celeste” on the left, or “Take Me Home” on the right. Again, I probably have room for both. Surprise me.
Liz Tran, “Ornament 14” at Morton Fine Art
But you know what would really wake up that wall space? A salon-style wall of paintings by Liz Tran. The biggest one available at Morton Fine Art is only four by four feet — plenty of room for six more circular paintings. Done! I’ll take a break from blogging to hang them up properly, and then I’ll be back January 8th. Happy holidays!