Curators Heather Hart and Jun Lee.
On the eve of the launch of ‘The February Show’ at the Chocolate Factory, a gallery within NYC’s Westside offices of advertising behemoth Ogilvy & Mather, Globalgrind spoke to the show’s curators, Heather Hart and Jun Lee, about their reasoning and motivation for mounting a group show exploring Black History Month.
The February show features over 40 works by up-and-coming as well as established artists including Xaviera Simmons, Derrick Adams, Shinique Smith and Yoshua Klos. The work presented displays a variety of mediums including painting, sculpture and installation.
The February Show opens tomorrow (February 17) and runs through June 30th.The Chocolate Factory (636 11th Avenue, New York City) through June 2011. Appointments to view the exhibit can be made by request (Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).
Please explain how the idea to do a show that’s critical of Black History Month came into fruition.
More than being critical, we were inquisitive. The idea was that this national celebration is an impetus for demanding a more thorough knowledge of our national history, but it is also absurd that our nation assigns the recognition of black American culture to the shortest month of the year and the goal would be to recognize black History all of the time.
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Derrick Adams’s sculpture, ‘He, Him, They, Them’
Negro History Week was founded in 1926. February was the chosen month because Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were both born in Feb. For 50 years Negro History Week was the norm but in 1976 it was changed to its current form and exists in the US. In Canada and the UK it is celebrated in October. Are the artists in the show only US citizens? How did you go about finding artists for the show?
We did not set rules of citizenship for the show. We chose artists whose work expanded the common perception of what “black art” might be.
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Kambui Olujimi’s ‘Peaches’.
What criteria and/or qualities were you looking for in the artists and art for the show?
We wanted to put together a group of work that spans diverse disciplines and aesthetics to represent the complexity of contemporary art. We chose both more established and emerging artist whom we think are important for people to see. The show is on five floors and includes over 40 works and we still couldn’t fit everything we wanted.
How did the two of you meet?
We met through a friend. Our tastes in work overlap and we began talking critically together about the work we would go to see. It has been a great fit.
What do you hope viewers will take away after seeing The February Show?
We love that this show creates a conversation like this. Art is, of course, subjective and everyone will take away something different. The reaction will be as diverse as the work.
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Xaviera Simmons’ ‘How To Break Your Own Heart Warsaw Poland.’
The February Show’s hidden conversation is about race, representation and identity, themes often explored by artists of color working in the US. Would you say this show is about race or a reaction
