The College of the Holy Cross will hold a series of presentations and workshops by African-American artists during the 2003-2004 academic year. This series of presentations speaks to the contemporary issues addressed by three African-American artists: Michael Coblyn, Clarissa Sligh and Deborah Muirhead.
The creative work of these artists examines the history, identity and collective experiences of African-Americans. Many disciplines inform their work including genealogical and historical research; social history; education; and social issues of race, class, and gender. Each of these three artists relates social and historical conditions to their own personal and collective experiences.
Originally conceived by Kiara Upshaw ‘04, co-chair of the Black Student Union, this series will involve interdisciplinary talks by each of the abovementioned artists. Each of the artists will have the opportunity to meet with small groups of students. In February, Clarissa Sligh will lead a creative workshop for a small group of minority women.
The schedule of exhibiting artists follows:
* Thurs. Oct. 23
Michael Coblyn (5 p.m., Stein Hall, Room 129)
* Thurs., Feb. 19, 2004
Clarissa Sligh (5 p.m., Stein Hall, Room 129)
* Thurs., Mar. 18, 2004
Deborah Muirhead (5 p.m., Stein Hall, Room 129)
This series is sponsored by the Black Student Union, Cantor Art Gallery, Visual Arts, Africana Studies, Women’s Studies, Religious Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, the Office of Student Life and the Lilly Endowment.
# Related information:
African-American Artists Series Continues With Deborah Muirhead
March 18, 2004
5 p.m. Stein Hall 129
Deborah Muirhead will give a lecture and slide presentation, titled “Claiming a Story: Abstraction and the Power of a Narrative” on Thursday, March 18, 2004 as part of the African-American Artists Series.
Muirhead’s paintings, drawings and books are ” fictional narratives that investigate historical invisibility.” Her identity as an African-American descendant of enslaved persons, her research in genealogy and her interest in African-American literature and history, all form the basis for her provocative and richly layered work. She writes that her work “reflects an examination of history, identity, presence and absence.” Her work combines fragments of text, lists of names, layers of wax, paint, and collaged pictures. Muirhead has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Hearst Fellowship, along with other national awards.
Artist’s Statement:
“My paintings and works on paper are a collaboration of genealogical research, African-American literature and history. By bringing together these combined elements I create fictional narratives that investigate historical invisibility. These imagined and constructed narratives speak through poetic voice but the configured story offers the notion of authenticity. This attempt to render the notion of time and space inseparable, is what writer Mihael Bakhtin has called chronotope, a literary device that makes narrative events concrete by giving them flesh and blood.”
# African-American Artists Series Continues With Clarissa Sligh
February 19, 2004
5 p.m., Stein Hall 129
Clarissa Sligh will visit Holy Cross on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004 as part of the African-American Artists Series. Sligh is a nationally known artist whose work is based on personal and community stories and often explores the experiences of African-American women. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards including an NEA Fellowship for her work in photography, artists’ books, installations and mixed media.
Sligh will introduce her work in an evening presentation open to all members of the college, titled “When and Where I Enter”. In addition, she will lead a workshop in the art studios with a small group of minority women students. Her workshop will encourage students to listen closely to each other and rely on their own experiences as the point of departure for their creative work. This is an introductory workshop and is open to students who have never been in an art studio, as well as to more experienced students. Sligh currently teaches in the graduate photography program at The School of Visual Arts, NYC. She is an experienced workshop instructor.
Artist’s Statement:
Quoted in Reframings New American Feminist Photographies Ed. Diane Neumaier, 1995.
“By asking me to write about my work in a way which acknowledges the impact of growing up black and female in a white racist society, you are asking me to put myself on the operating table and to perform the operation at the same time. My visual statements, a search for reality, are a testament to my struggle to go beyond survival. They are a testament to the strength, courage and determination black women need in order to continue to be here.”
