link roundup: read/listen/see

a glimpse into what i’ve been enjoying on the internet + in life lately

the beauty of real life: photographing domestic spaces

deana lawson is about to be your new favorite photographer. i’ve thought about these photos every day since i read this article. lawson’s work is intimate, visually arresting, brilliant.

if i was in san francisco, i’d be standing in front of this.

wangechi mutu’s “i am speaking, are you listening?” is at the legion of honor. dreaming of a way i can visit before november 7. go check it out if you’re local or visiting. her instagram is worth a look.

a second printing is on the way!

this spring, i placed an order for “Black women as/and the living archive”—part of a larger project by interdisciplinary artist tsedaye makonnen. it sold out, but you can preorder a copy today and receive it by the end of july. i encourage you to do just that.

i am such a fan of amiée m. everett’s work.

purchasing this is something i will never regret. fragmented memories 2 lives in our family room and it calls me into quiet reflection every time i settle into my favorite corner of the couch for a moment of rest in the afternoons. my son, austin, is a self-proclaimed space nerd and he loves her work as well. her spheres remind him of planets he wishes he could visit and black holes. (check out amiée’s latest work and this recent interview.)

keeping love close.

asian and asian-american photographers explore what love looks like in a time of hate. take a look at how these artists see love and family and the stuff of everyday life, transformed into unforgettable images.

she’s got a 20,000 sq. ft. studio and says she sculpts herself every day.

chakaia booker isn’t just an artist. she’s a legend. she’s worked mainly with automotive rubber as her medium for the last 30 years and she’s nothing short of fabulous.  

“resilience without any waning period, turned into endurance, and i became adept at snuffing out my own vulnerability and discomfort before i even felt it.” oof.

reading priyanka mattoo’s journey of figuring out what’s good for her is a lesson we all need to witness, especially those of us who have a hard time asking for what we need (and isn’t that just about all of us at one time or another?). 

death metaphors and imaginary spaces.

in a year where we’ve all asked “what is this?” more times than we can count, mayfield brooks explores grief and what it looks like when light disappears in their video work, “whale fall.” the video work’s premier at the abrons ended this spring, but check out the trailer on vimeo. 

press play. 

i’m a huge fan of lorraine o’grady and this podcast is definitely worth a listen.

i’m always excited to learn more about and celebrate Black woman artists.

and the way the studio museum in harlem has linked Black woman artists to one another and to generations of Black artists, curators, and critics is a story worth celebrating. bonus: julie mehretu. 

listen up.

i’ve started the truths found/fires burned vol. 1 playlist over on spotify. it’s an ‘80s and early ‘90s mix. 

willow, willow, willow. 

if it’s about her, i’m going to read it. and you should, too. i’m a bit of a superfan—and for good reason. 

the creation of hertopia. 

if this zip code existed irl, i would absolutely visit. a long read that is very much worth it. here’s a taste: “by blurring the lines between the ancient and alien, the utopian and monstrous, the real and fantastical, they offer decolonized, empathic and reparative views rooted in feminism. together, these female-centric visions summon not just new and forgotten worlds, but ways of thinking that might actually save us.” 

best news i’ve heard all year: the nanny is back!

grateful for hbo max—my love for this show runs deep. Check out more about the nanny on npr’s pop culture happy hour.

tina.

an absolute must-watch: tina (also on hbo max). this documentary is intimate and revealing. trust me: give it a watch.

check out another studio.

i am a sucker for behind-the-scenes studio tours, and this article does not disappoint. la artists and partners marisabel bazan and lisa schulte share their lives—and studio! check out how artists with very different practices work in the same space. 

betye saar and her daughters talk growing up and creativity.

another great article that includes a peek into art studios—right down to the snacks. reading this interview got me thinking about generational creativity and what i want to pass down to my kids. “hearing” betye talk about the creative things they did in her house when she was a child pulled at my heartstrings.

any article titled “does abstraction belong to white people?” is going to get my attention.

and this one got my attention and held it. this first-person narrative by miguel gutierrez transports its readers to dance festivals and reading groups and switzerland and a william eggleston show in new york. i held my breath—the writing really is that good.  

no longer overlooked.

another artist who is finally getting the attention she’s deserved all along, her pairing of art + science fiction makes virginia jaramillo an absolute standout. from the article: “although the majority of my cousins are ethnically mixed, i’ve never lost sight of who i am, nor of my mexican heritage of art and culture,” she told me. however, Jjaramillo rejects the conventional racial labels. “my father once told me, ‘they ask you what you are so they will then know how and what to think about you.’ i truly don’t care. i know who i am. my name is virginia jaramillo and i’m an artist.”

let’s work together to change the narrative.

this on-going “they didn’t receive the recognition they deserved” narrative is one i am striving to change; until we’ve course-corrected, i’ll read, share, and champion every article and artist that falls into this category. dr. alexandra juhasz asks, “why, we wondered, does deserved recognition come too late for feminist artists?”

impatiently waiting for the world to safely open back up. 

immunocompromised with high-risk family members, this pandemic has been an extended lockdown for my household. this means i’ve been to zero art exhibits in 16+ months; sadly, that means i didn’t get a chance to see bric’s latinx abstract. this groundbreaking exhibition focused on the exclusion of (some of my favorite) latinx artists including candida alvarez, karlos carcamo, maria chavez, alejandro guzman, glendalys medina, freddy rodriguez, fanny sanín, mary valverde, vargas-suarez universal, and sarah zapata.

howardena pindell and alma thomas sit on my spiritual advisory board.

and any article that mentions them or shows their work is going to be highlighted here. again, getting Black abstractionists the attention they deserve is part of my life’s work.  

must-watch video short

i can’t say enough good things about julie mehretu. i’m a superfan. surely you can find eight minutes to watch this short about her work and inspirations. 

in philly

if you’re local or visiting philly, go see senga nengudi: topologies at the philadelphia museum of art! nengudi is one of the greats. this career retrospective is the largest show of her work ever presented.

saint heron news

founded by solange knowles in 2013, this online community is truly evolving into a noteworthy cultural institution. “we want to create a space where we don’t have to fill in the blanks by creating a language of understanding.” read more about solange’s vision for saint heron in this article on artnet. 

and more from saint heron: barbara chase-riboud

give a listen to this podcast conversation between artist, poet, and author barbara chase-riboud and professor, producer, and author ilyasah shabazz over on saint heron. 

way beyond “milkshake”

when “milkshake” dropped in the summer of 2003, did we expect kelis to become a cultural icon? i’m not so sure, but i can tell you this: i absolutely love following her farm and cooking adventures on ig and need netflix to give her a show already. (i mean i’ve been a kelis superfan since my teen years, but following her journeys and discoveries throughout adulthood has been even more inspiring!)

speaking up and speaking out

tarana burke has a few things to say about the me too movement, shame, and survival. 

covid + art + texas

these three things are always on my mind. when they are all featured in one article you can be sure my interest is piqued.

are you a white person wondering how to celebrate Juneteenth? 

support kesha bruce on patreon. we just expanded our art collection with this work, and i couldn’t be more excited to have this in our home. kesha is fabulously talented and a dear friend. please consider supporting her over on patreon.