Is Your Art An Investment?

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Kathryn Tully,

If you find yourself admiring art in galleries and auction catalogs and wondering how much more it will be worth in the future, it could be time to take stock.

After all, the art market can be a secretive and unfathomable place to do business, so successful art investment is never going to be easy.

But is it even possible? Some would argue that making an investment and buying art are two mutually exclusive activities, because the first process is objective, liquid, transparent and mathematical, while the second is subjective, illiquid, opaque and speculative.

The combination of these opposing worlds means that cringeworthy terms such as passion investments and treasure assets get banded about all over the place in discussions about investing in art or other collectibles. Yet it’s when the passion and fluffy feelings are dropped from descriptions of art investment altogether that it becomes misleading.

Even respectable art market publications have categorized some art as investment grade, suggesting that it’s possible to accurately quantify the risk in owning an art work, when of course it isn’t.

The fact that works by so-called blue chip artists such as Andy Warhol sell for stratospheric sums at auction on a relatively frequent basis is no indication that those prices are consistently achievable, even for the same sort of work by the same artist.

 

Back in 2008, for example, Andy Warhol’s Eight Elvises fetched $100 million in a private sale. So when Sotheby’s put Warhol’s Double Elvis [Ferus Type] silkscreen up for auction this May, one of only 22 Warhol Elvises in existence and the first time a Double Elvis had come to market since 1995, the auction house thought it would fetch up to $50 million.

It actually sold for $37 million. That’s not exactly shabby, but in truth, an Andy Warhol canvas is about as close to an investment-grade-rated security as Elvis was to health food.

Perhaps that is why many art buyers do not consider themselves to be art investors. Of the 2000 high net worth individuals around the world that Barclays surveyed for their June report Wealth Insights: Profit or Pleasure?, only 10% said they bought fine art pictures or paintings purely as an investment, while 69% believed that the financial value of art is driven by public taste, rather than its intrinsic worth.

Despite all these difficulties, art investment is a big business. Since 2008, a new generation of art investment funds have set up shop as the broader art market has recovered. Some of these funds even offer managed art accounts for individual investors. The number of art indices is also growing. In May, the art market data provider artnet launched the latest of these, focused on modern and contemporary art. Artnet’s objective is to increase price transparency in a market where that is in scant supply.

That’s a laudable goal, but do any of these initiatives really make art a viable investment or do they just add a veneer of financial respectability to a market that doesn’t support it? In this blog, I’ll be wading into the world of art investment, and the investment market for other collectibles such as antiques, jewelry, photography and fine wine, to try to find out.

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How To Invest In Art

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I’ve got to confess before we begin. The only “art” I know is the guy who cuts my hair. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have art hanging on my walls. I own art because I know what I like and the pieces give my apartment life.

But art can be much more than decoration. It can be an investment. In fact, some investors rank art second only to property as the best place to put your money. But as always, the question remains: How can you find a piece that will appreciate in value?

Here are some tips to keep in mind if you’re interested in making art part of your portfolio.

what to ask yourself

Am I interested in art?


 This may seem like a basic question, but too often novices enter the art market without a passion for the medium. The result is that they make poor choices and end up with pieces they don’t even like.

Am I knowledgeable about art?


 If you took an art history course in college, then good for you. But don’t think that your knowledge begins and ends there. The art world is like any other market, it lives on what’s happening today and it hunts for what will happen tomorrow.

One way to find out what kind of art lover you are is by visiting galleries and art museums. Museums will give you an indication of the field; galleries will tell you what’s going on in the world of art right now.

Think of galleries and shows as the marketplace; you must attend them to know what’s going on. As a bonus, gallery staff can usually answer a lot of your questions — but keep in mind, they are salespeople.

Am I a first-time buyer?


When it comes to art, or any money investment for that matter, it’s easy to think that you know what you’re doing. After all, you see the success of some and you think, why not me? Art, like property, has a lot to do with business, but even more to do with the buyer’s taste.

Experience plays an important role in this investment process. While a first time buyer isn’t likely to understand how and why the market swings on taste, he isn’t necessarily at a disadvantage.

Perhaps the best way to insure your investment is by purchasing something you like. Art prices rise and fall, so if you buy something that you like, you’ll be able to live with it through the lean years.

Here’s how you can stay informed

how to inform yourself

Read magazines & newspapers
 The art world has its own publications. Start by reading your newspaper’s art section for general background. When you visit a gallery you like, pick up any magazines they offer, or ask if the work has been reviewed in any periodicals. A periodical, like ARTnews , will help you better understand the trends in the art market. The Arts section of the Sunday edition of The New York Times is another good place for a novice to start, as are The Village Voice and LA Weekly , which both have regular art reviews.

Find a trusted advisor
There are a number of people who make their living helping you buy the right piece. If you decide to use an advisor (I say if , because advisors are typically available only to those who wish to invest several hundred thousand dollars), make sure you go with someone who can provide strong references. After all,

hiring an art advisor is like hiring any other professional — his reputation for success and honesty is everything.

Do your homework on them. Such people aren’t found in the phonebook. Often, art advisors find their clients through personal contacts. By attending shows and talking to people, you’ll find the art advisors in your area. In other words, this is a word of mouth occupation.

what type of art?

For anyone who has ever seen modern art, you know that even the word “art” can pose a tricky definition. Most collectors focus on an area that they know and love. For example, you might really like abstract sculpture or oil paintings.

Sadly, from an investment perspective, there is no way to gauge the market success of one medium or style. Likewise, especially old art has neither an advantage nor disadvantage over new art.

In other words, it all comes down to taste. The best advice is to focus on the type of artthat you like.

is art a good investment?

Yes and no. The truth is that you can make money in art, but you can’t always count on it. That’s true of stocks too, but if you’re a numbers guy who wants tons of stats, art probably isn’t for you.

Just remember; the hottest thing can be considered valuable one day and junk the next. But whereas the stock market will point you to a series of logical business failures to explain that result, all the art world can say is that tastes change.

How do they decide how much art will cost?

Pricing art
 Most collectors will tell you that pricing art has more to do with the artist than the piece, at least when it comes to setting the initial price point. But then the question becomes whether the piece is typical of the artist’s work. Both questions are a matter of taste.

Fortunately, when it comes to finding a hot artist, you can look to the market trend. If you go to art shows and auctions, and you begin to hear one name more and more often, it’s likely that that artist is trending up. Finding the right piece, knowing when to buy and when to sell, are all things that the seasoned investor learns over time.

So when should you sell?

While there is no set time to sell, art is not a field in which investors make money with quick trades. Art can appreciate over years or even decades. In short, there are no good rules on when to sell.

ROI
It’s difficult to project the average historical return on art investments because, unlike stocks, the market doesn’t always report results. That said, some investors believe that over the last 50 years, art has out performed the S&P 500. Many investors project returns on

investmentin excess of 15%.

what to look for in an artist

Famous, or up and comer?
It’s art, but the obvious investment rule, “buy low and sell high,” still applies. The truth is that you can make a buck with a famous artist or an unknown just as easily as you can lose your shirt. However, it’s much more difficult to spot a rising star, especially if you’re just starting out.

So in the beginning you should stick to known quantities as much as possible. But remember; even a famous artist can turn into a disaster. A popular artist, Mark Kostabi, was well on his way to prominence — Sylvester Stallone was among his many patrons — when an errant comment (about AIDS benefitting the art world because it killed many gay artists) led to a market collapse for his pieces. His work went from being valued in the low five figures to virtually worthless overnight.

What the art world thinks of the artist
 There are many steps on the road to success for an artist. Along the way, an up and coming artist will probably sign with an agent, have shows in more and more exclusive galleries, get good reviews from critics, and (hopefully) sell a few pieces.

These are all earmarks of a solid investment, but they aren’t a guarantee.

What all these factors have in common is that they represent opinions of people in the art world. That’s important because these opinions drive the market price. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy a piece from an artist without an agent, or from one who has received bad reviews.

Essentially, what the art world thinks of an artist is a good way to minimize risk. On the other hand, the diminished risk usually means higher prices because other people are in on the artist. By contrast, an unknown artist can have a remarkable return on investment, or no return at all. So, in the end, it’s your decision.

stay tuned

Stay tuned for part two of “How To Invest In Art,” in which I will let you know where to find art, associated costs that come with buying art, whether or not you can diversify your portfolio, and scams to keep an eye out for.

Resources:
http://edition.cnn.com
www.bankrate.com
www.artnews.com
www.vwart.com
www.netword2000.com
www.forbes.com
http://content.gay.com
www.drloriv.com

Does Investing in Art Make Sense? A Look at Both Sides of the Debate

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by Shane Ferro

So you think you want to invest in art? Diversifying portfolios by purchasing tangible luxury assets has become increasingly fashionable over the last decade, and fine art is a popular way to do that — financiers, celebrities, and royals are known the clog the salesrooms of the biggest auction houses during the elaborate evening sales in New York and London. But under the glittering lights, it’s easy to forget that buying a Picasso as an investment is a great way to lose $20 million if you don’t do it carefully.

Experts have plenty to say both for and against art investing, and we’ve tried to sum up both sides of the debate on four key issues: Risk, Regulation, Cost, and Taxes. (To see this story as an illustrated slideshow, click here.)

Point 1: It’s Too Risky

There is no guarantee that your artwork is going to increase in value — much art is doomed to go out of fashion. An individual work or series of works can even decline in value while other works by that artist appreciate. Art can be appraised, but it’s not liquid enough to actually mark it to market. An appraised value is no guarantee of getting that price on the secondary market. In fact, just this week, writer, dealer, and collector Adam Lindemann wrote that he has noticed work is selling for much less on the secondary market than in the primary market — the opposite of the way the market worked a decade ago: “very often, when you buy a brand new piece in a gallery, my view is that it’s worth half the moment you walk out the door,” he wrote. Not a great basis for investing, in other words.

Counterpoint 1: 

But then again, some works will increase dramatically in value. All investments carry some sort of risk, and generally the higher it is the higher the reward. Art is high risk and not always high reward (there are high transactions costs and high carrying costs, even if it does appreciate). Thus, art is a luxury asset that shouldn’t be considered in isolation: A single Damien Hirst painting shouldn’t be your retirement plan. Still, it’s not a bad diversification tool, particularly if you also happen to derive emotional value from hanging it on the wall. If you want to buy art with a small portion of your wealth as a way to enliven your living space while also purchasing a tangible asset, that’s great — just know when you walk out of the gallery that you risk being stuck with it forever.

Point 2: The Market is Opaque and Difficult to Navigate

There have been an assortment of recent articles discussing the unregulated nature of the art market, most prominently a front-page article in the New York Times last week. It’s true that the odds are stacked against the new collector. Dealers operate in a murky shadow world, and money flows from information asymmetries. The ones who make a profit off the art market are those who know the industry front-to-back and have the deep pockets to buoy the markets of their artists when interest wanes.

Counterpoint 2: 

It’s unequivocally true that the art market is not user friendly. Making money off art requires having an extreme amount of either luck, knowledge, or capital (usually you need all three). If you are new to the market, trying to go it alone is particularly risky — you are very likely to get ripped off. Being smart about investing in art requires a long time horizon. The art world might be confusing, but it’s not rocket science. Buying art that you like from emerging and mid-career artists with the help of a knowledgeable advisor will likely pay off much better than putting up $45 million for a Picasso that no one else wanted (for a reason).

Point 3: It’s Expensive to Hold

As an investment, art is illiquid and expensive to insure. Dividends are non-existent. If you are serious about keeping it as an asset, it will need to be re-appraised every few years. It’s difficult and expensive to move. You have to make sure that your home has the right light and is kept at the right temperature. Simply put, having art on your walls is a money-suck.

Counterpoint 3:

This goes back to art being a passion investment. While it is very expensive to keep, you should also be getting some sort of non-monetary value from it — something other forms of investment can’t offer. If you don’t actually like art, it probably isn’t worth it. Alternatively, there are plenty of freeport storage spaces in Switzerland and Singapore to be had for the investment Picassos that don’t speak to you.

Point 4: The Taxes Are Terrible

Capital gains on art and collectibles get taxed at a rate of 28 percent, rather than the 15 percent charged for normal capital gains. This is fine if you plan to donate your art collection to a museum, but problematic if you want to sell it or leave it to an heir. Despite art valuation seeming somewhat ambiguous, fudging the value of a collection downward is not terribly easy. The IRS has a special Art Advisory Panel that audits the artwork valuations reported to the government for tax purposes, and in almost half of their cases recommended making adjustments on the appraisal. This has, in the worst cases, resulted in multi-million-dollar disagreements between the government and heirs of collectors.

Counterpoint 4:

There is no real counterpoint here; the taxes on art are terrible. If you want to invest in art, you better also be investing in a good estate-planning attorney.

source……

African American Art – Artist Frank Morrison – Poet Maya Angelou, “Phenomenal Women”

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In this video House of Art Gallery features the artwork of Internationally acclaimed fine art artist Frank Morrison’s series titled “Soul Sisters” that pays tribute to the strength, beauty, elegance and style of black women to the poem titled “Phenomenal Women” written by Maya Angelou.

SANTA MONICA: Cyrus Kabiru

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Cyrus Kabiru and Amuga Eschuci, Mongolian Elephant, 2012, C-STUNNERS Photography Series, C-type print, 30" x 20". Image via undertheinfluencemagazine.tumblr.com.
The C-STUNNERS 
Sculpture with Photography by Amunga Eschuchi
March 1st – 9th 2013

Bergamot Station, A-5
2525 Michigan Avenue
Santa Monica, CA  
The young Kenyan artist and TED Fellow, Cyrus Kabiru stands at the forefront of a generation of artists whose innovation and creativity is shaping the way in which not only art from Africa is viewed but Africa itself, as the work travels across borders challenging perceptions and stereotypes. Kabiru’s work has caught the imagination of the art world both within Africa and internationally as his signature C-STUNNERS body of work provides a metaphor for new ways of looking at Africa and the new ways that Africa views the rest of the world.
Working with found objects his sculpture is built on the notion of, in Kabiru’s own words, ‘giving trash a second chance.’ Weaving together materials such as bottle tops, shoe polish tins, wire and cutlery he is most well-known for his series of wearable eyewear sculpture, C-STUNNERS.
C-STUNNERS are Kabiru’s series of wearable eyewear sculpture which sit on the boundary between art, performance, fashion and design. Innovative pieces of art, each telling their own story and made from working with found objects from the artist’s immediate environment his work is inspired by the childhood memories of growing up in an area of Nairobi bordering Nairobi’s biggest rubbish dump.
Kabiru has been creating his ‘spectacles’ since childhood when he started to produce toys for himself, and later for his class-mates often as a way of bartering his way through school work. His passion for ‘glasses” stems from his father’s phobia about them (in turn caused by the fact that the artist’s grandparents punished his father severely when, as a boy, he lost a pair of glasses that they had made huge sacrifices to provide him with). When the young Kabiru took to playing with sunglasses at home he was told by his father “if you want to survive in my house you will make your own glasses” .Taking him at his word the young boy embarked on what will almost certainly be a lifetime’s mission to create wearable eyewear sculpture out of “trash”. His father, bemused by the explosion of toy glasses, became an unwitting curator, decreeing that his son should “only make the glasses when there is a reason” by recreating again and again the object of his father’s pain and his grandparent’s hope Kabiru began to create a body of work that would have symbolic significance well beyond his own family story and become a metaphor for the power of creative transformation in both within Africa and worldwide.

Tina Turner Vogue Germany Cover, Singer’s First Time Gracing Glossy (PHOTO)

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The Huffington Post  |  By

The legendary singer is seen rocking her signature honey blonde-highlighted hair, a silky navy blouse and what appears to be a black skirt for Vogue’s German edition, which was shot by Claudia Knoepfel and Stefan Indlekofer and styled by Nicola Knels. We would have loved to see Tina’s showstopping legs framed by some fringe, but maybe she’s flaunting them for the editorial feature inside the issue.

SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO

And let’s talk about the fact Tina is 73 years old and looks like she just stepped on the stage at the “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1970 to perform “Proud Mary.” Fashionista.com points out that the age-defying beauty might be the oldest Vogue cover star ever–snagging the title from Meryl Streep who covered American Vogue last year at the age of 62.

Either way, we’re just thrilled to see the Queen of Rock-n-Roll in all her glory. Although, it’s a bit embarrassing that an international Vogue publication is celebrating one of our homeland icons, who’s career spans over a half a century and could out dress most of the cover stars we’ve seen. What gives, American Vogue? Let’s not let this happen again. Thanks!

Here’s a look at Tina’s fierce Vogue Germany cover. Work it, lady!

The Black Billionaires 2013

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Rapelang Rabana, Founder, Yeigo Communications

Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi is no longer the richest black person in the world. He has been ousted by Nigerian cement tycoon Aliko Dangote, who is worth an estimated $16.1 billion. That’s $2.6 billion richer than Al-Amoudi.

American TV mogul Oprah Winfrey and newcomer Isabel dos Santos of Angola are the only black female billionaires on the FORBES billionaires list.

Of the 1,426 people who made it to the 2013 FORBES list of the World’s Billionaires, only 7 are black. These are the 7 who made the cut:

Aliko Dangote, $16.1 billion

Nigerian. Sugar, Cement, Flour

The fortune of Africa’s richest man is up $4.9 billion this year, cementing his position as the world’s richest black person. Last October, Dangote sold off his controlling stake in his flour milling company to Tiger Brands, one of South Africa’s largest consumer goods companies. He pocketed $190 million from the sale. Dangote began building his fortune more than three decades ago when he started trading in commodities like cement, flour and sugar with a loan he received from his maternal uncle. He became a billionaire by venturing into the production of these items in the early 2000s. His eponymous Dangote Group owns sugar refineries, salt processing facilities and Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.

Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $13.5 billion

Saudi Arabian.  Oil Refineries, Mining

Mohammed Al-Amoudi, the son of a Saudi father and Ethiopian mother, made his initial fortune by cornering lucrative construction contracts in Saudi Arabia. He now sits atop Midroc Group, a sprawling conglomerate that owns oil refineries in Morocco and Sweden and oil fields off West Africa. In Ethiopia, his holdings include a 70% stake in the National Oil Company as well as hotels and gold mines.

Mike Adenuga, $4.7 billion

Nigerian. Oil, Telecoms

Adenuga made his initial fortune distributing lace and handling large construction contracts for Nigeria’s military government in the 80s. Under the benefaction of former military President Ibrahim Babangida, he was awarded an oil production license and went on to become the first Nigerian to strike oil in commercial quantities. His Conoil Producing Limited is one of Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil explorers. He also owns Globacom, Nigeria’s second largest mobile phone network. His daughter, Bella Disu, is generally believed to be his heir apparent.

Patrice Motsepe, $2.9 billion

South African. Mining

Motsepe made global headlines in February when he signed up to join Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge, announcing that he will give away half the income generated from assets owned by his family to the Motsepe Family Foundation. South Africa’s first and only black billionaire holds the bulk of his fortune through African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), His publicly traded mining conglomerate, which has interests in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold. He also holds a stake in Sanlam, a publicly traded financial services company outside Cape Town.

Oprah Winfrey, $2.8 billion

American. Television

Oprah still remains the only African-American billionaire in the world. Her cable channel, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) enjoyed favorable ratings with an exclusive interview with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and other extremely popular interviews with stars like Beyonce and Rihanna. She also announced an upcoming Tyler Perry-helmed sitcom on her network. Still one of America’s more generous philanthropists, Oprah’s lifetime giving is estimated at $400 million. She has spent about $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Isabel Dos Santos, $2 billion

Angolan. Investments

The oldest daughter of Angola’s president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Isabel dos Santos owns stakes in several Angolan and Portuguese companies. Her largest holding is a $1 billion stake in Angolan mobile phone company, Unitel.

Mo Ibrahim, $1.1 billion

 

 

British. Investments

Sudanese-born Mo Ibrahim founded mobile phone company Celtel and sold it off in 2005 for $3.4 billion, pocketing $1.4 billion. He now devotes his energy and resources to philanthropy and investing in Africa. In 2007 he created the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to promote good governance in Africa. The foundation awards the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership which gives $5 million to African heads of state who have delivered on the dividends of good democratic governance. The foundation failed to identify a worthy recipient for the award in 2009, 2010 and 2012. His daughter, Hadeel, runs the foundation.

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Women’s History Month at the Smithsonian

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These two ladies are on their way to the Smithsonian to celebrate woman’s history month. Photo by Percival Bryan, courtesy of the Anacostia Community Museum

 

Women in jazz, women in science, women in the arts, women were everywhere. Even in the days when women were supposed to just be in the kitchen, they were busy making history. And this month at the Smithsonian, a month-long celebration of those women kicks off with the American History’s exhibit on the 100th anniversary of the Woman Suffrage Parade.

Get the full schedule of films, lectures and events here, but check out these highlights:

LECTURE The Scientist is In

Museum specialist at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Ruth Gibbons, discusses deepwater biodiversity surveys of an extinct undersea volcano in the Atlantic Ocean. Volcanos, oceans and deepwater diving, now that’s the life. March 6, Natural History Museum, 1 pm-2 pm.

Jazz star Carmen McRae, courtesy of Wikimedia

PERFORMANCE Rhythm Cafe: The Life and Mastery of Carmen McRae

Good friends with her musical inspiration Billie Holliday, Carme McRae sang one Lady Day song at each performance she gave. Nonetheless, the jazz musician born to Jamaican parents in Harlem carved out her identity with witty interpretations and star-studded collaborations. Mikaela Carlton, of the Howard University Vocal Music Department, will talk about jazz pioneer McRae’s life and achievements and the Carmen McRae Tribute Band will provide the tunes. March 10, Anacostia Community Museum, 2 pm-4 pm. Free, but space is limited, RSVP.

Black Artists of D.C. showcase work at Brentwood Art Exchange

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Photo courtesy of Gloria Kirk “Egungun Masquerade Ensemble” is a mixed media piece by Kirk that will be on display at the” Show Me What You’re Working With” exhibit.

Variety of mediums on display for Prince George’s County exhibit

by Cara Hedgepeth Staff writer

“I am very excited for this exhibit,” said Washington, D.C. resident Gloria Kirk. “It will be a feast for my eyes, a pleasure for my heart and a lesson for my brain.”

Kirk has been a member of The Black Artists of D.C. for the last 12 years. Her artwork, along with the work of 16 of her fellow group members, will be on display starting Monday at the Brentwood Art Exchange. The art is part of an exhibit entitled “Show Me What You’re Working With.”

Show Me What You’re Working With

When: Feb. 11 to April 6; Opening reception from 5-8 p.m., Feb. 16; Artists’ Talk from 2-4 p.m. March 9

Where: Brentwood Art Exchange in the Gateway Arts Center, 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood

Tickets: Free

For information: 301-277-2863, arts.pgparks.com

Though several members of The Black Artists of D.C. have showcased their work at Brentwood before, the exhibit marks the first time they’ll do so collectively.

“The group is really active and a lot of the members have come to a lot of our shows and [we] felt like these are people who are really engaged in the art community in D.C.,” said Phil Davis, acting director of the Brentwood Art Exchange. “[We] wanted to show what [the group] was all about.”

Davis added that the mission of the Brentwood Art Exchange, located at the Gateway Arts Center, is to draw people to Prince George’s County through high-quality exhibitions.

“We hope cultural activity becomes a drive for people wanting to be in the area,” said Davis.

The Black Artists of D.C. was founded in 1999 and its members include artists, educators and collectors among others. The group aims to enliven the arts in the District by encouraging each other to try new mediums, methods and techniques.

“It’s been invaluable in my growth and development as an artist,” Kirk said. “[Members] have ideas and suggestions … It’s always a very positive constructive critique so you don’t get your ego bruised which is important when you’re starting out.”

After a career as a Foreign Services Officer, a job that took her to Asia, Africa and Latin America, Kirk decided to pursue photography after retiring in 1995. Now, thanks to the experience she’s gained in The Black Artists of D.C., Kirk has begun to explore other mediums as well.

“This is total immersion for me,” she said.

Her home in the District now doubles as an art studio with a space for quilt and doll-making upstairs, a photography office on the first floor and a space in the basement where Kirk said she does “the messy stuff.” She also rents space in a photography studio in Takoma Park.

Kirk will have three pieces on display at the exhibit, a photograph entitled, “Grace” and two quilts, one of which was on display at the Gallery of Serengeti in Capitol Heights and then Howard University last year.

“[My] inspiration comes from the strength of my ancestors,” said Kirk. “It portrays the thread that runs from past to the present to the future.”

Although the “Show Me What You’re Working With” exhibit coincides with Black History Month, Davis said there is no single theme to the showcase.

“D.C. is such a big cultural center for art and African American culture,” Davis said. “We wanted to not rope things in. Being an African American artist can mean anything.”

“I wanted the artist to choose what they thought represented them,” added Daniel Brooking, a Black Artists of D.C. member and someone who played a major role in bringing the group to Brentwood. “I wanted the artist to choose what they thought was their best work and what they wanted to say to the world …”

Brooking, a professional artist nearly his whole life and a member of The Artists of D.C. since 2006, works mostly in computer generated art and Shibori, a Japanese technique similar to tie-dye involving dyeing cloth by folding, stitching, twisting or binding it. The work he’ll have on display at Brentwood, though, is an example of his latest work in mixed-media. The pieces are headshots of his family under a piece of plexiglass with an image of a mask etched on it.

“Masks are a part of almost every culture,” Brooking said. “We as people, everybody wears a mask. I wanted to be able to see the person behind the mask.”

Brooking said he would like to see the exhibit at Brentwood become an annual showcase to give members of The Artists of D.C. an opportunity to earn recognition outside of the organization.

“Since I am primarily an artist,” he said, “I am very much an advocate for the artist.”

chedgepeth@gazette.net

Stage preview: Public’s ‘Thurgood’ aims to be intimate look at epic man

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Bob Donaldson Montae Russell stars as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in Pittsburgh Public Theater's one-man play "Thurgood." Mr. Russell has acted in six August Wilson plays at Pittsburgh Public Theater.

 

By Sharon Eberson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

So much of what Thurgood Marshall accomplished is well-documented: As attorney for the NAACP in 1954, he won the Brown v. Board of Education case, in which the Supreme Court ended racial segregation in public schools. In 1967, he became our first African-American Supreme Court justice. “Thurgood” attempts to give us insights into the man, and to revisit the play today comes with an added obligation to explore the times.

The play is from our recent past, but our present has changed dramatically since it was on Broadway from April to Aug. 17, 2008 — a week before the opening gavel of the Democratic National Convention that gave Barack Obama his first presidential nomination.

 

“We have a different version of enlightenment now; we have an African-American president. We’re talking about people who were shot when they registered to vote,” Ted Pappas said.

Public’s producing artistic director, who will direct, has brought back Homestead native Montae Russell to portray Justice Marshall. The actor is a longtime interpreter of August Wilson works at Pittsburgh Public Theater, where he’s acted in five plays, beginning in 1989 with “Fences.” Starting in 1995, he spent a decade in the recurring role of Dwight Zadro on the TV series “ER” but kept coming back to the Public and then to Broadway, where in 2001 he played Mister in Wilson’s “King Hedley II.”

“I’m an actor because of theater,” he said in 2006, when he was at the Public for “Gem of the Ocean.” “The theater is calling me back.”

Mr. Pappas has produced shows that included Mr. Russell, but this is the first time they have each other’s undivided attention.

“The play must feel like an intimate conversation about something epic, and that’s what we have been working on in rehearsal,” Mr. Pappas said. “It must be plain-spoken and intimate, yet it must reverberate as a story that matters more than any other, that matters deeply to millions of people. Montae has that quality as an actor because he possesses dignity and warmth in equal measure. He also has dazzling technique, which it needs. … He speaks to us as friends and then he speaks to the Supreme Court of the United States; you have to be able to negotiate those two realities.”

The director has experience working on solo shows: He choreographed an early production of “Herringbone” in New York, then directed two shows about larger-than-life people for the Public: “The Chief,” with Tom Atkins as Art Rooney Sr., and “The Lady With All the Answers,” with Helena Ruoti as Ann Landers. In approaching “Thurgood,” he comes off of directing one of his biggest productions ever, “1776.”

“I leave the ‘Thurgood’ rehearsals more physically tired than I did for the musical because there’s a lot of research and conversation and detail in shaping a big show on one body and one voice,” Mr. Pappas said. “At the same time, it feels extremely focused, because it’s about Montae and his performance. … The easiest part was remembering his name [big laugh] — a big part of ‘1776’ was, what is your name, what is your character’s name and what state are you from?”

Despite the serious nature of the subject, there is humor in Justice Marshall’s life and times, captured originally by Laurence Fishburne in a Tony-nominated performance and an HBO film shot at the Kennedy Center. Mr. Pappas has absolute faith in the accuracy of the work as well; playwright Stevens’ honors include 15 Emmys and the Paul Selvin Award for writing that embodies civil rights and liberties.

A twist for Public is introducing and integrating a high-tech projection system for this production.

“It’s exciting to try something new. It’s like the turntable [used in ‘1776’], it’s like the pool [for ‘Metamorphoses’ in 2009]. Every year we try to add more and more to the Public’s vocabulary,” Mr. Pappas said.

The projections will add a vivid dimension to the story of a man and his times.

“It’s one man, but the play is very big,” he said. “It’s about the 20th century and all of us in America, and our quest for justice and fairness.”

Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960.
First Published March 7, 2013 12:00 am

Gordon Parks’ vast career in 92 photos

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"Department Store, Mobile, Alabama" (1956) documents the era of segregation, with separate entrances for blacks and whites. Photo: Gordon Parks, Copyright The Gord, Courtesy Jenkins Johnson Gallery
Patricia Yollin

When Karen Jenkins-Johnson decided to put together an exhibition of photographs by Gordon Parks, she had to choose from at least 900 images. It was an almost impossible task, but she eventually selected 92 pictures that capture gangs in Harlem, fashion in Paris, a starving boy in Brazil and more than four decades of work.

“I wanted to show the breadth and depth of his career,” she said.

Parks was a photographer, composer, filmmaker and writer who was born in 1912 and died in 2006 at age 93. Henry Louis Gates Jr., literary critic and Harvard University professor, described him as “the most important black photographer in the history of photojournalism.”

The youngest of 15 children of tenant farmers in Kansas, he was homeless at times as a teenager and finally escaped the streets by playing the piano in a bordello. When he was working as a porter and waiter on a train, he found a few discarded issues of Vogue. “Gordon said, ‘You watch. Some day I’m going to be a photographer in this magazine,’ ” said George Philip LeBourdais, who contributed to a five-volume Parks collection published this year.

In 1938 Parks bought a camera in a Seattle pawnshop. Four years later he was taking pictures for the Farm Security Administration in Washington when he met Ella Watson, a charwoman. He photographed her in front of the U.S. flag – with a mop in one hand and a broom in the other – and titled the image “American Gothic” because it was modeled on Grant Wood‘s famous painting.

“FSA Director Roy Stryker said, ‘This photograph is going to get us both fired,’ because it was depicting a black woman in a very negative light, looking so desperate,” noted Peter Kunhardt Jr., 30, director of the Gordon Parks Foundation.

“American Gothic” leads off the exhibition, which includes images of a sweating Muhammad Ali, the Tuskegee Airmen, segregation in the South, the Black Panthers, celebrities such as actress Ingrid Bergman and conductor Leonard Bernstein, and New Englanders who in 1944 had never met a black person.

Jenkins-Johnson, a 52-year-old African American, grew up in an integrated neighborhood in Portland, Ore. “I am a product of the lack of teaching about black history,” she said. “I only discovered Gordon Parks in 2004. I’ve been in love with his work ever since.”

Parks spent 24 years at Life Magazine and became close friends with Kunhardt’s grandfather, who was managing editor. “Gordon wasn’t an icon. He was a member of our extended family,” Kunhardt said. “He’d have his pipe and a cowboy hat and a big coat when he visited us. He’d listen to everybody, and he always had a camera in his hand.”

If you go

Gordon Parks Centennial: Through April 27. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Jenkins Johnson Gallery, 464 Sutter St., S.F. (415) 677-0770. www.jenkinsjohnsongallery.com.

Patricia Yollin is a freelance writer and editor. E-mail: 96hours@sfchronicle.com

Trapped in the Lye

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I’m still in awe of how the timing in our lives is so gradual and perfect. Just enough time goes by to learn how wrong life can be and what there is to learn to make it right. Images like those of Hush Puppy from the film Beasts of the Southern Wild — a beautiful, courageous, little black girl with perfect natural hair and an imagination — helps to take you away from old stereotypes and brings you closer to the person and their story. There is courage, freedom, history and pain in that hair. It’s her crowning glory!

And then she is trapped. Trapped by the notion of beauty that does not come always come naturally. Fried, dyed and laid to the side for the red carpet. I had hoped that after Viola Davis showed us how glamorous natural hair could be last year, that we would start to see more natural styles celebrated on Oscar night.

Our mammas protect us, and tell us how beautiful we are. Girls feel safe in the confines of their home and community. Once they transition to school they often enter a world where they start to believe that straight hair makes a girl pretty. It isn’t long before they come home asking to wear their hair like the pretty girls. How do we combat this?

I had lunch with friends of mine the other day — both mothers of little girls. One of them told me she went to the school and asked her daughter’s teachers to praise her as beautiful when her hair was natural, not when she wore it straight. My other friend only allows her daughter to wear her hair straight when she goes to get a blow out. I’m so proud to see the pro-active examples they are setting for their girls, and hopefully others like them.

Recently I took the Hair Rules team to the Harlem School of the Arts, for our first annual “Love Your Hair” event. We shared our knowledge and understanding of hair and beauty in the performing arts. We encouraged the girls to love and embrace their texture and how it is a tool to communicate their art, whether it be ballet or jazz. It was amazing to speak to these tweens and hear how excited they were by all of the beautiful options their hair offers them.

We are blessed to be living in an age where we have seen our first African American president elected to two terms in office. Michelle Obama has been a class act as a first lady and is setting a shining example for all of our girls. I can only imagine the pressure in DC that she is under to maintain her straight style. Capitol culture doesn’t embrace daring styles. We saw it with Hillary being bullied into a longer style over her short hair, and in Condeleeza wearing the same beltway style for years. My wish is for the first daughters to be trailblazers. You have a stage, show the world how beautiful and versatile that your natural hair is. No more lye-ing! There is natural beauty in our multiple textures. Once you embrace that fact, you will no longer be trapped in the perpetual lye.

It’s time all of our girls learn how to love and learn their hair.

Follow Anthony Dickey on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@hairrules

Georgia Museum of Art to show 19th-century African American face jugs

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The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will present the exhibition “Face Jugs: Art and Ritual in 19th-Century South Carolina” May 4 to July 7, 2013. (C) 2013 Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia

ArtfixDaily.com)

The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will present the exhibition “Face Jugs: Art and Ritual in 19th-Century South Carolina” May 4 to July 7, 2013. This exhibition draws from the collections of face vessels from the Edgefield District of South Carolina and is organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum and by the Chipstone Foundation, a decorative arts foundation in Milwaukee, Wisc., committed to fostering education and continual research in the decorative arts. “Face Jugs” presents these vessels as a celebration of their formative and aesthetic power in conjunction with discussions of their cultural meanings to the African Americans in Edgefield. Claudia Mooney, assistant curator at the Chipstone Foundation, served as curator for the exhibition.

The face jug form originated in the pottery created by enslaved African Americans during the second half of the 19th century in Edgefield. Made of turned stoneware, they include facial features crafted from kaolin, a locally sourced clay and a material considered sacred in West Africa. Art historians originally viewed these vessels as mere utilitarian water storage jugs. Others later proposed the jugs served a ritualistic purpose as storage for what were thought to be magical materials. More recent research indicates that they had multiple uses and have most likely been misunderstood by outsiders. White potters appropriated the design, discontinued the use of kaolin and made their face jugs more whimsical, resulting in a loss of the symbolic power intrinsic to the original form.

Dale Couch, GMOA’s curator of decorative arts and the in-house curator of the exhibition, said, “The persistence of African culture in the work of enslaved craftsmen is a strong statement of resistance and on human dignity. This is the most African of art in North America, but with that being said, it still is hybridized with other cultural prototypes, particularly European, which creates a complex array of meanings.”

The exhibition is sponsored by the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art.

Events connected with the exhibition include the Alfred Heber Holbrook lecture, featuring a presentation by Adrienne Childs entitled “Ornamental Blackness: The Black Body in Western Decorative Arts” on Thursday, April 4, at 6 p.m.; Teen Studio, a workshop on face jugs for teens led by local artist Hope Hilton on Thursday, May 2, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Family Day: Funky Face Jugs on Saturday, May 11, from 10 a.m. to noon; and the Wanderer Symposium, an all-day event that focuses on the slaves who landed on Jekyll Island in the ship the Wanderer and their descendants on Friday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Childs lecture and Family Day are sponsored by the Georgia Humanities Council.

First Ever African American Artists Showcase Held in Valdosta

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By: Eames Yates

Valdosta, GA – Fruits of the Garden Winery played host to Valdosta’s first ever African American Artists Showcase on Saturday evening in Downtown Valdosta.

One artist said “we didn’t have the best weather for this but we still had a very good turnout.”

The rain couldn’t scare off the crowds from coming to see eight artists from Lowndes County. Spoken word, paintings, and gospel were just a few of the artforms represented.

Beverley Richardson-Blake helped organize the event. She said
“one of the key things we wanted to do was to expose them. Get them exposed in the community and let the community know what great talents we have.”

Some of the art had unusual origins… Milton Rogers lost everything when his apartment caught fire. It turned out a snack led to creative inspiration. He said “I was sitting there and I was eating a pack of M&M’s. And I had this color from the M&M’s coming off in my finger. And I said a hah! Good idea, I can draw with the color of the M&M’s.”

Mrs. Richardson-Blake went on to say “I hope that this is just the first of many events that we will have and we can make it an annual thing. And we can make it grow and grow and grow.”

Donations collected at the event benefited the Southside Library.