One of the great things about the internet is that nothing ever, ever goes away.
Case in point: Nicki Minaj‘s chicken wing necklace worn last September on the red carpet of the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas.
The chicken wing was fried, painted hot pink and hung from a gold necklace around the Super Bass rapper’s neck. At the time, mainstream media and the blogs freaked out because they thought that Nicki was confirming a certain stereotype about Black people.
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Some called her ghetto, others said she went too far. All we have to say is that it takes a smart person to wear a chicken wing around her neck.
We don’t know why it didn’t occur to us back then; maybe it had to do with the distraction of New York Fashion Week, but Nicki’s chicken wing necklace looked like it flew away from an installation/sculpture by reclusive conceptual artist David Hammons.
Last night we were in the home of one of Hammons’ collectors when we came face to face with “Flying Carpet,” an enormous Persian rug studded with chicken wings and suspended on a wall.
The piece was made in 1990, a few years after Hammons documented himself selling snowballs in a New York City snowstorm.
Hammons, now in his sixties, doesn’t show work often, but when he does, it’s a treat.
Several years ago he had a one man show at ACE Gallery in NYC. Patrons were asked to navigate their way into a pitch black gallery with tiny blue LED lights, while a live band played music, in search of his art.
What the audience failed to realize, bathed in the blue glow of tiny flashlights, was the fact that they were being conducted by Hammons, i.e. creating his art. It was the most awesome NYC art event we’ve ever experienced.
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Staring at his chicken wing carpet, which was about two sets of taste occupying the same space, our companion, near tears, recalled Nicki’s chicken wing necklace and whispered “I totally get it.”
It seems, too that Nicki also got “it” when she saw or was presented with, the Onch Movement necklace which also speaks about two sets of tastes.
Nicki, like Hammons, plays with language in her art, rapping and looking fly. Nicki wore a chicken wing necklace because she was fly.
We’re not sure how many pieces Onch Movement sold, but it’s highly probable they owe David Hammons a check!
