All Dat Glitterz Ain't Goals - NY Arts MagazineNY Arts Magazine

In Lyons Wier Gallery’s latest exhibition, All Dat Glitters Ain’t Goals, Fahamu Pecou expands upon his 2011 exhibition in Paris, HARD 2 DEATH, by utilizing his familiar trope of self-portraiture to challenge and dissect society’s representation of black masculinity in popular culture today. The title, All Dat Glitters Ain’t Goals, is an obvious play on the quote from William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, “all that glitters is not gold.” As with all of Pecou’s exhibitions, the artist’s masterful word play is the root of his exhibition.

“Pecou sifts through rap music, hip-hop culture and mass media to provide a visual reference that exaggerates and calls into question the persona and ‘hype’ that serves as a bar upon which an entire segment of today’s society measures their worth.”

Fahamu Pecou, All Dat Glitterz Ain’t Goals, 2012. Acrylic, Silver Leaf, Gold Leaf, Spray Paint and Oil Stick on canvas, 74 x 60 inches. Courtesy of Lyons Wier Gallery, New York.

All Dat Glitterz Ain’t Goals

In Lyons Wier Gallery’s latest exhibition, All Dat Glitterz Ain’t Goals, Fahamu Pecou expands upon his 2011 exhibition in Paris, HARD 2 DEATH, by utilizing his familiar trope of self-portraiture to challenge and dissect society’s representation of black masculinity in popular culture today. The title, All Dat Glitters Ain’t Goals, is an obvious play on the quote from William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, “all that glitters is not gold.” As with all of Pecou’s exhibitions, the artist’s masterful word play is the root of his exhibition.

Pecou sifts through rap music, hip-hop culture and mass media to provide a visual reference that exaggerates and calls into question the persona and “hype” that serves as a bar upon which an entire segment of today’s society measures their worth. The “thug life” lifestyle encompassing exotic cars, “iced out” jewelry, sexy women, drugs and countless non-culpable accounts of criminal exploits litter the lyrics of popular songs and music videos, ultimately infecting the overall perception of “success” in contemporary black male culture.

Fahamu Pecou, Eye-Con, 2012. Acrylic, Silver Leaf, Gold Leaf, Spray Paint and Oil Stick on canvas, 74 x 60 inches. Courtesy of Lyons Wier Gallery, New York.

These ideals contrast starkly with the realities of most black youths, but often become the goals that many aspire to. Some would argue that this display of decadence and disregard is merely entertainment, however to many on the outside looking in, there is no suspension of disbelief. The reading and performance of black masculinity is often greatly dependent upon the reflected images of black men in the media–where hip-hop culture becomes the demonstrative construct.

Punctuating each painting in All Dat Glitterz Ain’t Goals is an original rap song written and performed by Fahamu Pecou, accompanied by Grammy Award winner rapper Killer Mike and Stic.Man of hip hop duo Dead Prez, and featuring several of Atlanta’s most well-known rap artists and vocalists such as Ekundayo, Boog Brown, Clan Destined, Starchile and Mike Flo to name a few. The entire music project is produced by acclaimed producer Illastrate.

All Dat Glitterz Ain’t Goals runs from September 6th to October 6th at the Lyons Weir Gallery.