Press Release: Posing Beauty in African American Culture
January 01, 2019
David C. Driskell Center to Present an Exhibition Exporing Beauty in African American Culture
The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland is proud to announce its spring 2019 exhibition, Posing Beauty in African American Culture. The exhibition challenges contemporary understandings of beauty by framing notions of aesthetics, race, class, and gender within art, popular culture, and politics. Posing Beauty will be on display at the Driskell Center from Thursday, January 31st, 2019 through Saturday, April 27th, 2019, with an opening reception on Thursday, January 31st from 5-7PM.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Posing Beauty in African American Culture explores the contested ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through a diverse range of media including photography, video, fashion, advertising, and other forms of popular culture. Throughout the Western history of art and imagemaking, the relationship between beauty and art has become increasingly complex within contemporary art and popular culture. The exhibition is presented in three thematic sections; the first “Constructing a Pose,” considers the interplay between the historical and the contemporary, between self-representation and imposed representation, and the relationship between subject and photographer. The second theme, “Body and Image,” questions the ways in which our contemporary understanding of beauty has been constructed and framed through the body. The last section, “Modeling Beauty & Beauty Contests,” invites us to reflect upon the ambiguities of beauty, its impact on mass culture and individuals, and how the display of beauty affects the ways in which we see and interpret the world and ourselves. Posing Beauty in African American Culture is organized by the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. The exhibition is curated by Deborah Willis, University Professor and Chair of the Department. The exhibition has been touring nationally since January of 2010 and is managed by Curatorial Assistance, Inc. Pasadena, California.
The exhibition catalogue Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present, published by W. W. Norton & Company, will be available for purchase at the Driskell Center. > Posing Beauty in African American Culture includes works by:
Ifetayo Abdus-Salam, Henry Clay Anders, Thomas Askew, Mangue Banzima, Anthony Barboza, Petrushka Bazin, Sheila Pree Bright, Renee Cox, Edward Curtis, Bruce Davidson, Andre de Dienes, Omar Victor Diop, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Lola Flash, Leonard Freed, Russell Frederick, Gerard Gaskin, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Dave Heath, LeRoy Henderson, Todd Gray, Lyle Ashton Harris, Charles “Teenie” Harris, Jessica Ingram, Lauren Kelley, Roshini Kempadoo, Russell Lee Kalup, Linzy Elaine Mayes, Robert H. McNeill, John W. Mosley, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, David “Oggi” Ogburn, Gordon Parks, Ken Ramsay, Edwin Rosskam, Robert Sengstacke, Jeffrey Henson Scales, Jamel Shabazz, Stephen Shames, Hank Willis, Thomas Mickalene, Thomas Lewis Watts, Carrie Mae Weems, Carla Williams, Ernest C. Withers and lauren woods
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Driskell Center will present a panel discussion with professionals and artists from diverse backgrounds. The event is open to the public, and will be held on Thursday, March 7th, 2019, from 5-7PM. Among the panelists are: Maxine Craig, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Davis; John H. Brown from the University of Maryland’s Philosophy Department; and Deborah Willis, Chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts and Director of the Institute of African American Affairs.
ABOUT THE DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER
The David C. Driskell Center honors the legacy of David C. Driskell—a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Art, Artist, Art Historian, Collector, Curator, and Philanthropist—by preserving the rich heritage of African American visual art and culture. The Driskell Center is committed to preserving, documenting, and presenting African American art, as well as replenishing and expanding the field of African American art. All programs at the David C. Driskell Center are free and open to the public. The facility is wheelchair accessible.
For further information regarding exhibitions and activities at the Driskell Center, please call 301.314.2615, email driskellcenter@umd.edu, or visit www.driskellcenter.umd.edu. The Driskell Center’s programming is supported in part by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and private donors. The Driskell Center Gallery’s hours are Monday through Friday from 11AM to 4PM with extended hours on Wednesday until 6PM. The Driskell Center Gallery will additionally be open on the following Saturdays: February 16th, March 30th, and April 27th, 2019 from 11AM to 4PM. The Driskell Center observes all University of Maryland closings due to inclement weather and holidays. The Driskell Center will be closed for Spring Break March 18th-22nd. The David C. Driskell Center office is open daily during the weekdays from 8:30AM through 4:30PM.
