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FROM TABOO TO ICON: Africanist Turnabout
January 10, 2008 – February 10, 2008
Opening Reception: Thursday, January  10, 2008
Reception and Curator/Artist Talk:  Friday, February 1, 2008, 6-9 PM
Ice Box Project Space
1400 N. American St.
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Crane Arts
www.cranearts.com


                                (click to image enlarge)

Curators:

Sophie Sanders, PhD candidate, Art History Department, Tyler School of Art, Temple University; MA, Slade School of Art, University College London

Shervone Neckles, MA Art Education, Columbia Teacher’s College, MFA Queens College 

From Taboo to Icon: Africanist Turnabout is a part of African Impressions / Contemporary Art, a series of symposia and events that explore modern and contemporary art from the perspective of African influences and voices.  This exhibition presents artwork in all media that explores the concept of Africanist aesthetics and the taboo or iconic aspect of these influences in contemporary western culture.  Contemporary artists from diverse origins respond to the censoring, impact, and celebration of Black and African Diaspora cultural aesthetics, which have been considered taboo in some historical contexts and iconic in others.  These artists also re-investigate the omissions in history and contemporary American culture by questioning appropriation and what is seen and unseen in popular culture and fine art.  

From Taboo to Icon: Africanist Turnabout will transform the Ice Box gallery into what philosopher bell hooks terms as a “Learning Community,” which invites the public to become active participants in action and reflection.  The exhibition will be engaged to think about how all forms of visual representation have the ability to become iconic when they achieve prominence and familiarity through frequent repetition. Some works deal with preserving relics, memories, history, and tradition which are often associated with the sacred and venerated, while others connect with ancestral heritage of the African Diaspora and honor the individuals who are often less visible in fine art contexts.  A number of works in the show will also challenge or complicate the very notion of traditional African aesthetics in a changing global context.

 Participating Artists

Major funding for the exhibition provided by the Provost’s Commission
for the Arts/Office of the Provost of Temple University and the Joan
Mitchell Foundation, Inc. Other funding provided by the General Activity
Fee and the Art History Department, Tyler School of Art. Additional
support donated by the Exhibitions and Public Programs of Tyler School
of Art, Crane Arts in Philadelphia, and an anonymous donor.