Adams's appellation for his exhibition plays on the tagline that promoted TV shows evolving from their black and white status. Specifically, it is a reference to black entertainers entering the landscape of American broadcast television. Adams discussed the genesis of his imagery as having its origin in sitcoms, dramas, and newscasts featuring African-American characters--"morphed together, and communicating in a language that is "animated and larger than life." Aware of the visual attraction of his vibrant tones, Adams said, "If I make artwork, you will be drawn to it."
We returned to the themes of "content and context" as opposed to formalism; "surface" versus content; the use of "structural dynamics." Yet at the core, stripping away the intellectualization, was a recognition of what Adams called the "formulaic image"--a representation of African-Americans based on a "turn-up the volume and exaggerated" portrayal. He terms it the "duplicitous presence."
Talking about the influence of American black culture, Adams maintained, "It takes twenty-five to thirty years before it becomes diluted and filtered into the mainstream." Adams underscored the "power of the media to represent." The problem lies in the lack of veracity. Inevitably, that representation is stronger than an actual "engagement."
Adams uses the metaphor of television as a "voyeuristic lens," as well as a "portal." In the Boxhead series, which Adams defined as "not gender specific," he spoke about "attitudes and posturing, geometric forms," and the use of "four perspectives in one object." I related to the sculptures as female, reading them as a contemplation on black female identity, specifically focused on the hair as a reflection of self.
The works are displayed on cardboard boxes. When I asked Adams about that choice, he defined it as an "anti-process action," an alternative to the pristine pedestal traditionally used to "support art." Adams considered it the "simplistic part of the piece," and a nod to the concept of "things being unpacked and presented."
The first collage we discussed was, I Come in Peace. A female black figure is portrayed in a crawling stance--or what could be construed as a sexual position. Wearing a leopard skin bikini, her hair is fashioned into a molded coiffure, reminiscent of a lion's mane. Planes of colors divide the face, echoing the Boxheads. Solid bands of color from the television spectrum vocabulary are combined with snippets of the American flag (operating simultaneously as symbol and design), and camouflage material.
Adams sees
the image as a "powerful" acknowledgment of the woman's "self-expression." She
is conveying the concept, "Regardless of how you see me, I am offering myself
as an idea." For Adams, it boils down to the query, "How do you want to be
known?" It's Adams, putting it out there, challenging the spectator with the
premise, "Is this a black woman in control of her options," or an exploited
performer buying into the "dynamics of a specific system of operation and
financial gain?" Adams recognizes the ongoing debate (e.g., Beyonce's
use of the backdrop, I Am a Feminist), as well as the inherent contradictions. I Come in
Peace fulfills Adams's goal of grabbing the viewer via an "emotional
experience--the feeling of it."
In King for a Day, Adams revisits the issue of African-American masculinity within American life. The figure is dressed in a white shirt with multicolored polka dots, incorporating a square overlay of kente cloth. A hand holds the string to twelve balloons. Seven are solid yellow, with smiles and rounded black eyes. Five are formed from the kente cloth, and have frowns and Xs for eyes. Adams describes it as his "riff on the idea of comedy and tragedy, outer appearances, and the duality of representation."
Fun and Games places the black male figure center stage, as game show host. He is surrounded by money, fragments of a Monopoly board, chance cards, and the possibility of landing in jail as part of life's lottery. His demeanor presents a vigorous presence, but the subtext questions what Adams calls "strategies of success." What does American life hold for the average black man? Does everyone really get an equal turn at the board, or are the dice loaded? The jail square brings to mind the stats that African-American men are imprisoned at much higher rates than their white male counterparts.
Commenting on the interweaving of entertainment and violence as an American preoccupation, Show Down examines beliefs and attitudes about guns. Adams pointed out, "People want to see those images on television, but not in real life." The use of "bang flags" places the gun in the realm of a vaudeville gag, rather than as an instrument of lethal force. However, in reality, any connection of a black male with a firearm is interpreted as ominous, while a white man "bearing arms" is merely invoking his Second Amendment rights.
Underlying concerns parsed in "Live and in Color" can be seen in Adams's previous works, both sculptural and two-dimensional. Dating back to 2008, Adams utilized the brick metaphor in combination with other objects to create statements. In Four in One (The Same League), several years before the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, Adams incorporated the article of clothing that would become a flash point when a witness described Martin as, "A black male, wearing a dark colored hoodie."
In The Statue, the bricks are overlaid on the persona of boxer Mike Tyson. Adams said he chose Tyson, "as Warhol used Monroe--for visual recognition." Using the iconography of Tyson's body like a "Michelangelo sculpture," Adams scrutinizes how people were observing the young Tyson as "surface." Altering specific elements of the traditional "weigh in," the scale is transformed into a marble platform. Adams called it, "an allusion to the David." Raising a number of questions Adams asked rhetorically, "Is it glory, sorrow, or objectification?" Hovering in the same the territory is the legacy of slavery--and the black male body in that narrative.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
