Kalup Linzy. Photo: Daniel Trese
To commemorate the year that was, we invited an array of artists, writers, designers, and curators—from poet LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs and musician Grant Hart to designer David Reinfurt and composer Eyvind Kang—to share a list of the most noteworthy ideas, events, and objects they encountered in 2014.
Kalup Linzy is a Brooklyn-based video and performance artist, whose work is featured in the Walker’s presentation of Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art. Best known for his satirical soap opera–style narrative videos, Linzy is interested in exploring stereotypes, sexual identity, race, and gender. In 2010, he appeared alongside James Franco in the ABC soap opera General Hospital in an episode featuring performance art. More recently, he released an album for his multi-platform project Art Jobs and Lullabies, which can now be found on Spotify, iTunes, and other digital outlets. His videos can be viewed here. Linzy has held solo exhibitions at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2009); MoMA, New York (2008); Prospect.1, New Orleans (2008); MoMA PS1, Long Island City (2006); and LAXART, Los Angeles (2006). He has been featured in group exhibitions at the Garage Center, Moscow (2010); Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C. (2008); The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London (2008); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2007); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2007); and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2006). His work is held in the collections of MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, among others.
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Photo: Emanuele Berry
Mass die-in, St. Louis Galleria on Black Friday
Demonstrators poignantly and peacefully protested Black Friday in response to Darren Wilson not being indicted for shooting and killing Michael Brown. Several malls in the area were shut down.
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Dan Colen, The Brant Foundation, Free Arts NYC, and The Department of Homeless Services.
Wonderful to hang out, mentor, eat pizza, and appropriate, through the eyes of children, Colen’s work.
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Celebrating the life and work of José Esteban Muñoz through performance: Take Ecstasy With Me, organized by Miguel Gutierrez and Alex Segade in conjunction with the 2014 Whitney Biennial
Muñoz cared, understood, and contextualized the work of many queer artists that most would not think twice about engaging with. Produced by the Whitney’s department of education and initiated by Gordon Hall, many of us took to the stage to perform. Included were myself, Nao Bustamante, Jorge Cortiñas, Juliana Huxtable, Miguel Gutierrez with I.n. Hafezi, My Barbarian, Kate Bush Dance Troupe, A.L. Steiner, and Jacolby Satterwhite. RIP, Jose. You are greatly missed.
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Black-ish on ABC
A single-camera comedy that centers on an upper-middle-class African-American family. Many of the episodes focus on identity and cultural politics that contemporary art world types should find engaging. It stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, who is pictured above with Thelma Golden.
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Bethann Hardison’s Dance Party
Hosted by Iman, Naomi Campbell, and Tyson Beckford. This was the most fun I had had in a while. Congrats to Bethann and all her pioneering contributions to the fashion industry!
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Creative Time Presents Kara Walker’s A Subtlety or The Marvelous Sugar Baby
Viewing the exhibition, I remembered a summer hanging out in the pepper fields with my father, who was a farmer and overseer in migrant work. I don’t ever recall being in a sugar cane field with him, but I do remember them existing and playing in them with my cousins. One day I told my father I wanted to be a farmer when I grew up. He said, “No, I want you to have an office job, because farming is hard labor.” At the time I didn’t really understand. I was just a kid who loved and was always excited to be with his dad. I left Walker’s exhibition being grateful for evolution and parents who desire more, fight, and work hard for their children to have a better life.
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Chris Ofili: Night And Day at the New Museum
Inspiring, rejuvenating… fanning that desire within to produce work that continues to resonate over time.
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A beast of a show with intimate moments of offspring dispersed throughout.
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Rachel Feinstein’s The Last Days of Folly at Madison Square Park
With her sculptures as a backdrop, a one-day performance festival was staged and brought together luminaries from art, fashion, film, television, dance, and theater. Had me wanting to do one of my own. Kudos, Rachel! Hoping there’s more to come!
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Sweet Liberty Censored
The muddled, confusing details sounded like a plot from my web series As Da Art World Might Turn. Because I am not a fan of mine or my collaborators’ artistic voices being shooshed, here is the censored billboard with our original intentions above it. A sweet beautiful narrative.
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