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Among the many issues that call into question the placid façade of American social harmony, the question of race is primary. Especially after Hurricane Katrina, racial issues are once again central to the American discourse about its social make-up and the idea of reparations stands central in its divisiveness. For years calls have been heard for reparations to address historical injustices based on slavery and, particularly, the promise of “40 acres and a mule.” From academics such as Cornell West, musicians like Ice Cube and Public Enemy, and filmmakers like Spike Lee and Dave Chappelle, these calls have not come from the wild, but from the center of African-American public life. |
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Reparations/If It Ain’t Broke – Keith Miller
Among the many issues that call into question the placid façade of American social harmony, the question of race is primary. Especially after Hurricane Katrina, racial issues are once again central to the American discourse about its social make-up and the idea of reparations stands central in its divisiveness.
For years calls have been heard for reparations to address historical injustices based on slavery and, particularly, the promise of “40 acres and a mule.” From academics such as Cornell West, musicians like Ice Cube and Public Enemy, and filmmakers like Spike Lee and Dave Chappelle, these calls have not come from the wild, but from the center of African-American public life. These calls have mostly been understood and heard strictly within the African Diaspora community. In other communities, these calls have been frequently unheard, unaddressed or disregarded.
With these duet exhibitions, “Reparations” at the SAC Gallery, and “If It Ain’t Broke” at Gallery 138, we will be inviting individual artists to address the topic in whatever way seems appropriate to their work. As part of the show, we will also be hosting a panel discussion with academics, activists and artists. The central goal is not to advocate for reparations, but instead to shed light on this topic that seems to underlie the divisive nature of race relations in the United States.
Sheila Pree Bright
The American photographer Bill Owens documented the suburbs in the early 70s, largely employing a photojournalistic approach. Gregory Crewdson revisited the suburbs in the 90s, rendering the internal struggles of white, suburban lifestyles cinematically, in large color photographs. The middle class, multi-ethnic lifestyle, however, does not have a presence within the contemporary art world.
In my “Suburbia” series, I explore suburban life within African-American culture. The series is intended to contrast the American media’s projection of the “typical” African-American community with a more realistic picture of normal African-American life. My intent is to also explore the variations in an existence that subverts lifestyle and culture, particularly as it relates to Americanism.
As in most of my work, my inspiration for this series was derived from my experience as an African-American raised as a “military brat” and who began traveling to “foreign” places at as young as two years old. My exposure to other cultures and lifestyles created an appreciation in me for “universal blending,” which I view as the subtle, but distinctive influence of American pop culture.
Jessica Ingram
My work is primarily about families and communities. This project is absolutely about that. It is a meditation and a recapturing. It’s about the fact that, not long ago, an intense fear and hatred flamed in the country, one that was especially strong in the South. It’s about the legacy of that fear and how hatred continues in current events and in the lack of attention to past events. These images, sometimes banal, become a new representation, a new memorial to these events. The hope is that they will be considered in a different way than images from media at the time, and in a way that includes the relationship of this history within current contexts.
