_MG_2894 (by d. scruggs) New work. (II)

_MG_2894 (by d. scruggs)

New work. (II)

_MG_2892 (by d. scruggs) New work.

_MG_2892 (by d. scruggs)

New work.

Question Bridge: Black Males, video installation I had the good fortune to see the Question Bridge installation at the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday. I’ll just share some of my notes here, which I jotted down furiously during my time at the museum and on the train ride back. On its face it’s deceptively simple: video interviews with black men. But the answers they give, the editing, is so rich and complex! The whole project gets at what I want my art to do—-to give black people the space to simply be, which is what happens when these black men are asking questions and reflecting about their own lives. Centering black men’s narratives Giving black people the space to breathe (N.B.: Typo? Freudian slip?) Questioning false “parameters of blackness” as one person put it It was refreshing to see black men be, without being pathologized, talked down to, vilified, or simply erased. They were allowed to be, given space to be vulnerable, to cry, to be silly, to be eloquent, to be brutally honest, to be angry, to be tender—-to be all of the things that make us human. It was also great to see it in an audience, a mostly black audience with “ummmhmmm”s of understanding and of recognition; peals of laughter; soft “yes”es; murmured “oh”s; an excited outburst—-“That’s my friend Jamal!” The call and response. Other notes: Intimate dark grey walls white Gotham font quotes from W.E.B. Du Bois 5 screens in a semi-circle video interviews edited to look like a conversation between black men of various ages, backgrounds, socioeconomic class glad they included queer community, voices often get lost/excluded

Question Bridge: Black Males, video installation

I had the good fortune to see the Question Bridge installation at the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday. I’ll just share some of my notes here, which I jotted down furiously during my time at the museum and on the train ride back.

On its face it’s deceptively simple: video interviews with black men. But the answers they give, the editing, is so rich and complex!

The whole project gets at what I want my art to do—-to give black people the space to simply be, which is what happens when these black men are asking questions and reflecting about their own lives.

  • Centering black men’s narratives
  • Giving black people the space to breathe (N.B.: Typo? Freudian slip?)
  • Questioning false “parameters of blackness” as one person put it

It was refreshing to see black men be, without being pathologized, talked down to, vilified, or simply erased. They were allowed to be, given space to be vulnerable, to cry, to be silly, to be eloquent, to be brutally honest, to be angry, to be tender—-to be all of the things that make us human.

It was also great to see it in an audience, a mostly black audience with “ummmhmmm”s of understanding and of recognition; peals of laughter; soft “yes”es; murmured “oh”s; an excited outburst—-“That’s my friend Jamal!” The call and response.

Other notes:

  • Intimate
  • dark grey walls
  • white Gotham font
  • quotes from W.E.B. Du Bois
  • 5 screens in a semi-circle
  • video interviews edited to look like a conversation between black men of various ages, backgrounds, socioeconomic class
  • glad they included queer community, voices often get lost/excluded

Upstate.

I’ve been in Wassaic, NY for about four days now.  I have created some new works for my self-portrait project as planned and some text pieces that…I’m not entirely sure where they’re going or if I’ll even continue them. I also don’t feel quite ready to post the new photos and text vignettes just yet.

The Wassaic landscape is completely different from what I’m used to. We’re in the mountains, surrounded by trees and endless stretches of grass and bright blue skies. My current living space is nearby a horse farm, and when I went for a walk, I heard a rooster crowing. I’m sure this sounds banal but I grew up and have lived in cities my whole life and these are things one just doesn’t see and hear every day.

I’ve been taking advantage of the landscape as well as the studio architecture when shooting, and the results are rather different from what I’ve made up to this point. I’m honestly not sure if that’s good or bad but I’ll keep working and see what happens.

Wassaic, New York

photo via Wassaic Project

This is where I will be for the first two weeks in April as part of the Wassaic Project’s artist-in-residence program. To say I’m both thrilled and humbled would be an understatement. I actually haven’t said much about it because, I suppose, a part of me couldn’t believe that this would actually be happening. But it is. This also means I have a week to get all of my i’s dotted and t’s crossed before I head up north, but that’s a horse of a different color.

I do look forward to having time to focus solely on a few projects that I want to jump start and explore a few other ideas I’ve had on my brain for a bit. I’m looking forward to the open space, the change of pace, and the opportunities for learning and collaborating with other artists. I’m also terribly excited and nervous about the possibilities but that’s normal, right?

There are other things in the works, things I can’t talk about right now since they are in their nascent stages, but I’m excited about these developments as well. I cannot wait to share them all soon.

Sunday Funday

Sunday Funday

Amber (ii) (by d. scruggs)

Amber (ii) (by d. scruggs)

Eric, Hyattsville, MD, 2011 (ii)

Eric, Hyattsville, MD, 2011 (ii)

Eric, Hyattsville, MD, 2011

Eric, Hyattsville, MD, 2011