For the past few months it’s been impossible to talk about MoCA without referring to the institution’s most high-profile current resident, Takashi Murakami, but of equal importance is the incredible retrospective of revolutionary Black Panther propaganda artist (and inspiration to a generation of modern “street artists”) EMORY DOUGLAS also on display at the institution’s Pacific Design Center. Emory Douglas worked as minister of culture for the Black Panther Party from 1967 until its discontinuation in the early 1980s and his powerful visuals helped define the trademark visual style of the group’s newspapers, posters, and pamphlets. Douglas’s substantial body of work exists as a powerful graphic record of the Black Panthers’ legacy, reflecting their development and evolving mission to improve the lives of black Americans by calling for resistance and change, as well providing social services to their communities. With a firm understanding of the need to disseminate information and communicate the party’s agenda visually, Douglas’s bold illustrations and striking images spoke forcefully to a community ravaged by poverty, police brutality, and poor living conditions. The graphic work that Douglas created for print can also be seen within the context of Bay Area visual production from this period, revealing a kinship at times to work by artists such as Peter Saul or R. Crumb, while also serving as a stark antidote to the hedonism embodied in the posters promoting psychedelic rock across the Bay. HAVE A LOOK:
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NEWS///OPENING NITE: SHEPARD FAIREY’S “SUPPLY & DEMAND” AT CINCINNATI CAC BREAKS ATTENDANCE RECORD

Friday was a big nite in the Midwest when SHEPARD FAIREY’s Ohio installment of his traveling retrospective “Supply & Demand” opened at the CINCINNATI CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER and shattered the institution’s all-time attendance record.
NYC///ART HYPE///MR BRAINWASH PERFECTS THE ART OF TURD POLISHING WITH THE OPENING OF “ICONS”

What has to be the final nail in the “Street Art” coffin was driven in last weekend by none other than MR. BRAINWASH (aka: “The Christian Audigier of Street Art”) when he opened his massive, self-produced “Icons” show in a rented space (which, ironically, was once a real art gallery, pre-recession) in the heart of Chelsea. As the subject of Brit Street Art king Banksy’s recent docu-parody film, “Exit Through The Gift Shop,” MBW has been the focus of much hype and speculation as his presence finally seeps into the fairly muddy stream of mainstream consciousness. Last week’s Wall Street Journal article articulated this particularly well:
FASHION///R.I.P./// DESIGNER ALEXANDER McQUEEN COMMITS SUICIDE IN LONDON

One of the fashion world’s foremost visionary designers ALEXANDER McQUEEN was found dead today in his London apartment, an apparent suicide just days after the death of his mother, and the suicide of one of his close friends Isabella Blow, who discovered the young designer and helped forge his early career:
MOCA’S “COLLECTION: THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS” PROVES THE MUSEUM SHOULD BE AROUND FOR 30 MORE

Despite MOCA’s financial woes of late and near collapse last year amid the chaos of the economic holocaust, the veritable Southland institution seems on to a bright future now, having secured ST buddy JEFFREY DEITCH as its new director (starting June 1) and financial security (for the moment). If ever there was a time to celebrate, it is now. HAVE A LOOK:
FEATURE///IN THE STUDIO WITH SHEPARD FAIREY AS HE PREPARES FOR DEITCH GALLERY’S CLOSING SHOW

By now it’s no secret that JEFFREY DEITCH is closing shop in downtown NYC to head West for the sunnier confines of the MoCA Director’s office, starting June 1st. That leaves SHEPARD FAIREY’s upcoming portrait show as the farewell exhibition at one of the city’s most legendary and influential commercial art institutions in the city’s history.



























