CHICAGO, IL (AAPNW) – On view Gray Chicago through Thursday, October 27, 2022, “Citing Black Geographies” is the works of fifteen artists whose practices examine “black space” which is a term describing the topographies, zones, scenes and structures that signify black cultural experience.
The exhibition, curated by Romi Crawford, professor of visual and critical studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, includes works by Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Dawoud Bey, McArthur Binion, Black Arts Movement School Modality, Nick Cave, Coco Fusco, Theaster Gates, Rashid Johnson, Tony Lewis, the Staples Jr. Singers, Tavares Strachan, Jan Tichy, Jina Valentine, Carrie Mae Weems and Amanda Williams.
“Space, some will say, is not intrinsically racially specific,” says Crawford. “And yet there are some locations and territories that read obviously and overtly as ‘black space’—zones that have some connectivity to black peoples’ lives, history, and culture. In this sense, black space is cultivated or fostered regularly and variously.”
With works ranging from painting, print, installation, and drawing to photography, sound, video, film, and performance, the exhibition examines periodic iterations of black space. For example, photographic series by Dawoud Bey, “Night Coming Tenderly, Black” speaks to historical notions of black space, capturing seemingly innocuous sites obscured under the veil of night. Devoid of discernible architectural elements, the depicted spaces invoke the narrative of the Underground Railroad and the existence of freedom spaces that emerged following laborious journeys to the North.
Examining black space as a contemporary ideal, Rashid Johnson adopts an aspirational perspective in “Black & Blue” is a video in which he interprets the exclusive Long Island vacation destination of the Hamptons as black space and envisions the purported “good life” that has been rigorously gate-kept from black and brown communities. Using his family as the protagonists of the film, Johnson tessellates domestic scenes of affluence commonly associated with whiteness onto non-white figures.
“Redefining Redlining” by Amanda Williams questions and reinterprets redlining, one of the systematic physical constructs that has historically demarcated black space. Williams will plant red tulips along parcels of land on Chicago’s South Side to explore how social and political traditions create and transmit forms of belonging. Utilizing the ubiquitous flower, Williams re-designates spatial value in an act of remembrance of redlining policies that delineate black urban areas.
Additionally, “Citing Black Geographies” affirms black roots in the American South with a contemporary live recording by the Staples Jr. Singers, “When Do We Get Paid (In Full),” coproduced by Crawford and the record label, Luaka Bop.
For more information, www.richardgraygallery.com. Editor’s note: The exhibit travels to Gray New York and goes on view Thursday, November 17 through December 23, 2022.