CAAM Museum Notes - April-June 2015

Our guest for our May 16th installment of Conversations at CAAM will feature Alice Harris, known fondly as “Sweet Alice,” in an interview conducted by Ruby Quallsgray, current Secretary of CAAM’s volunteer History Council. Ms. Harris is a community organizer, and founder and Executive Director of Parents of Watts (POW), a local outreach organization with multiple programs serving mainly women and children. A native of Detroit, Mrs. Harris relocated to Watts to care for her ill mother, and soon became a caregiver to the entire community.

Sunday, May 17, 11am – 4pm | TARGET SUNDAYS AT CAAM Jazz Appreciation Tea The Charles Owens Sextet will perform. Featured exhibition: Light Catchers.

Saturday, May 23, 2015, 11am - 4pm | CAAM CELEBRATES CHILDREN’S LITERACY Heads Are Turning, Children Are Learning Since 2004, in celebration of National Children’s Book Week, we present local Los Angeles authors and celebrity readers in CAAM’s galleries. The activities of the day also include an arts and crafts workshop, literacy workshops, face-painting, and book giveaways for families in attendance. Free and open to the public. RSVP preferred: 213.744.2024.

We would like to express our gratitude to the following for providing CAAM their support over the preceding months: Bank of America; Mr. Brian Breye; The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center; California State Library/LSTA; The Capital Group; Los Angeles City Council Member Bernard C. Parks, Sr.; The Getty Foundation; Mr. Eric Gabaldon; Ms. Irene Fertik; The Los Angeles Zoo; Mr. Austin Straus; Target Corporation; and United Airlines.

generously funded by Target Corporation

Telling Our Stories s Experiencing Our Art Sharing Our History Through the eyes and voices of traditional and contemporary artists, community leaders, cultural historians, activists and educators, this once-a-month CAAM event celebrates the diverse influences and achievements of art and culture from the African American Diaspora.

The second Sunday of each month from 11:00 am-4:00 pm

www.caamuseum.org follow us on

twitter.com/CAAMinLA and facebook.com/CAAMinLA

Todd Hawkins

CAAM State Board President Donations to CAAM may be made online at www.caamuseum.org or mail contributions to Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA 90037 The California African American Museum is a State-supported agency, Jerry Brown, Governor. CAAM partners with and is further supported by Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum. CAAM is located in Exposition Park at 600 State Drive in Los Angeles. CAAM is open Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm, and Sundays 11am - 5pm. Admission is FREE. Parking at 39th and Figueroa Streets is $10 per vehicle. Tel 213.744.7432. Fax 213.744.2050. Email: info@caamuseum.org. Facebook/twitter@caaminla.

Website: www.caamuseum.org. Museum Notes is published quarterly by the California African American Museum. Interim Executive Editor, Denise L. McIver. Design, Susan Dworski | The Blue One. Except as otherwise noted, photographs provided to CAAM by Marty Cotwright, Donovan Dickson, Earl Dotson and Jaime Pham for the Los Angeles Zoo Association.

CALLING ALL EMERGING FILMMAKERS! SHOW OFF YOUR SKILLS! Beginning this month CAAM invites emerging filmmakers to submit their films (both narrative and documentary – 30 minutes or less in length) for consideration for our upcoming annual Shorts At CAAM event this summer. All submissions and questions should be emailed to Program Manager, Elise Woodson at ewoodson@ caamuseum.org. Please note: Submissions must be made no later than 5PM, Friday, July 17, 2015. We look forward to viewing your work!

Saturday, May 16, 2015, 1pm – 2:30pm | DISCUSSION CONVERSATIONS AT CAAM

TARGET SUNDAYS AT CAAM

COULD YOU BE THE NEXT STEVE MCQUEEN?

Saturday, May 2, 2015, 1pm – 2pm | PRESENTATION BLACK PHOTOGRAPHERS IN LOS ANGELES: A LEGACY Dr. jill moniz, independent curator, and Reginald Woolery, photographer and curator, will examine the history of Black photographers in Los Angeles, with a special emphasis on the seven photographers in this exhibition. RSVP preferred: 213.744.2024.

In 2015 we are celebrating 10 years of

Zna Portlock Houston Rev. Cecil L. Murray Joseph C. Phillips Paul F. Roye Vera B. Stewart Dr. Francille Rusan Wilson

Saturday, April 25, 2015, 1pm – 3pm | PANEL DISCUSSION Artists involved in the FLASH TAG project will engage in a lively discussion about this street art, and the stereotypical ideas associated with this art form. The program will be moderated by Visual Arts Curator Vida L. Brown. RSVP preferred: 213.744.2024.

David A. Ford Eric Lawrence Frazier Kimberly Freeman Todd Hawkins Asa Heath Raphael Henderson

Thursday, April 23, 2015, 7pm | FILMS AT CAAM TRANSITIONS AND TRANSFORMATION Life Itself (2014, 120 min) This moving documentary provides a very up close look at the life and career of the renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert. Director Steve James. RSVP preferred: 213.744.2024.

April - June 2015

Susan Cole Hill, President Renee C. Bizer, Vice President Dr. Monet L. Daniels, Secretary Ellis Gordon Jr., Treasurer Keith A. Drake Shawn Farrar

Wednesday, April 22, 2015, 7pm – 9pm | PANEL DISCUSSION Finding Beauty Through Struggle The California African American Museum, in collaboration with The Broad Stage, invites you to a attend a thoughtprovoking discussion with playwright, professor and actor Anna Deavere Smith, and artists/activists J. Cheryl Bookout, Mark Steven Greenfield, and Joe Hernandez-Kolsi, as they discuss the resilience of the human spirit and how adversity can give rise to creation. Moderated by LA Times Correspondent Sandy Banks. RSVP preferred: community@thebroadstage.com.

CALIFORNIA AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM

Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum Board

Thursday, June 25, 2015, 7pm | FILMS AT CAAM CELEBRATING BLACK MUSIC MONTH Brothers Hypnotic (2013, 90 min) For the eight young men in the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, “brotherhood” is literal: horn players, all sons of anti-establishment jazz legend, Phil Cohran. Cohran and their mother raised them together on Chicago’s South Side on a strict diet of jazz, funk and blues. But as the brothers try to make their own way, whether collaborating with Mos Def or wowing a jazz festival, they find the values their father bred into them tested repeatedly. Director Reuben Atlas. RSVP preferred: 213.744.2024.

Museum Notes

Todd Hawkins, President Zna Portlock Houston, Vice President Kimberly Freeman Eric Lawrence Frazier Rev. Cecil L. Murray Joseph C. Phillips Dr. Francille Rusan Wilson

Thursday, April 16, 2015, 7pm | FILMS AT CAAM TRANSITIONS AND TRANSFORMATION Changing Face of Harlem (2012, 60 min) This documentary examines the revitalization of Harlem told through the deeply personal stories of its residents, small business owners, politicians, developers, and clergy. Identified as the birthplace of the Black Renaissance, the film takes a critical look at Harlem’s history, early development, and its present transformation.

Director Shawn Batey. RSVP preferred: 213.744.2024.

f

or me, springtime has always symbolized a season of renewal and rejuvenation––in terms of our physical and emotional landscapes. Springtime, by its very nature, is a marker of great promise and beauty. It is the harbinger of all the good things to come––if we sow wisely now and remain patient for the harvest to be reaped in the future. I hope you’ll use the promise of this verdant and beautiful season to see the fine and inspired work that has been sowed at CAAM in the preceding months, and which now has produced the fruits of our labor from which our community members and visitors can enjoy.

For example, we have redesigned an exhibition that was originally mounted in 2003. In its 2015 incarnation, The American Journey West has been expanded with historical materials that have been curated from CAAM’s History Collection, and which recounts the diasporic story of how African Americans who, after slavery, wended their way to the western parts of the United States.

Our survey exhibition, Lookin’ Back In Front of Me: Selected Works of Mark Steven Greenfield, 19742014, charts the artistic development and unique point-of-view of visual artist Mark Steven Greenfield over the course of 40 years. This exhibition provides guests with an awe-inspiring body of work created

by Greenfield that not only provides an in-depth exploration of his creative process and artistic output, but it also serves as an encyclopedia of the Black Arts Movement which blends the recent history and social events with the creative process of art-making.

At CAAM we celebrate artistic liberation and experimentation, and FLASH TAG is clear evidence of this. We brought The Street into the Museum, and invited several crews of talented street artists to tag the walls of Gallery I. We gave them the opportunity to exercise their artistic concepts which resulted in the production of visually stunning and daring work which will be on view through August 2nd.

With our exhibition 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: A Photographic Remembrance from the Spider Martin Civil Rights Collection we take a collective sojourn to the past, during which we acknowledge and honor the contributions and the legacy of those who fought so valiantly to ensure that African Americans’ right to vote would not be suppressed or compromised. We all know that it is as important to remember today so that future generations do not forget tomorrow. To do otherwise would be a great disservice to the larger culture.

Light Catchers showcases the eclectic works of seven veteran African American photographers, all of whom were active in Los Angeles since the 1940s. The photographic images of Howard Bingham, Don Cropper, Jack Davis, Bob Douglas, Cliff Hall, Lamonte McLemore, and Murphy Ruffins remind us of where we’ve been so that we can compare it to where we are now as a people. At the same time, this exhibition also celebrates the donation of 35 photographic prints to CAAM’s Permanent Collection made by Irene Fertik, who originally conceived and curated this exhibition when it debuted in 1997.

We thank Patrick Kemp, Assistant Secretary, Finance & Administration of the Natural Resources Agency (the State agency which oversees CAAM), for his steady hand and assistance as we move through this period of transition. At the same time, we welcome George Davis, who has been appointed to lead CAAM as its Interim Executive Director.

Do come and visit us. Come to learn. Come to play. And most of all, come to enjoy.

CAAM State Board of Directors

Sunday, April 12, 2015, 11am – 4pm | TARGET SUNDAYS AT CAAM Hattitude!

Hosted by Jeffrey Anderson Gunther and Babe Evans, the day includes a hat-making/decorating workshop led by artist Teresa Tolliver, and our 10th annual hat contest and hat parade. Featured exhibition is the newly re-opened African American Journey West.

Saturday, June 20, 2015, 3pm – 5pm | COMMUNITY EVENT Commemorating the 65th Anniversary of the Korean War & African American Korean War Veterans CAAM, with media sponsors Korean Daily, Korean Times, and radio station 1560 AM, will honor the enduring contributions made by African American Korean War veterans on the 65th Anniversary of the Korean War. This celebration will include performances by an African American choir and a Korean American choir along with dance performances to honor those who so valiantly served in the Korean War. This is a free event and reservations are not required.

state board president, todd hawkins

Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA 90037 T 213.744.7432 . F 213.744.2050 www.caamuseum.org Open Tues.–Sat. 10 am–5 pm, Sun 11 am-5 pm. Admission is FREE Parking $10 at 39th & Figueroa Streets. Metro: Expo Line to Exposition Park stop adjacent to USC & the Rose Garden.

Thursday, April 9, 2015, 7pm | FILMS AT CAAM TRANSITIONS AND TRANSFORMATION 25 to Life (2014, 87 min) This film tells the story of William Brawner, a young man who kept his HIV-positive status a secret for over twenty-five years. Now William seeks redemption from his promiscuous past as he embarks on a new phase of life as a HIV/AIDS activist. Director Mike Brown. RSVP preferred: 213.744.2024.

Thursday, June 18, 2015, 7pm | FILMS AT CAAM CELEBRATING BLACK MUSIC MONTH Keep On Keepin’ On (2014, 84 min) This film follows jazz legend Clark Terry over four years to document the mentorship between Terry and 23 year-old blind piano prodigy, Justin Kauflin, as the young man prepares to compete in an elite national competition. Director Alan Hicks. RSVP preferred: 213.744.2024.

A message from CAAM’s

NON PROFIT ORG US Postage Paid Permit No. 1619 Los Angeles, CA

programs

Sunday, June 14, 2015, 11am – 4pm | TARGET SUNDAYS AT CAAM CELEBRATING BLACK MUSIC MONTH Performances and presentations celebrating Black Music Month. Special bonus workshop activity: make your own drum!

exhibitions

caam in the community

Lamonte McLemore, 1997.

Irene Fertik

light catchers March 20, 2015 - June 7, 2015 Light Catchers was originally conceived and curated by photographer Irene Fertik in 1997, funded by a grant from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. The exhibition features the work of seven veteran African American photographers active in Los Angeles since the late 1940s: Howard Bingham, Don Cropper, Jack Davis, Bob Douglas, Cliff Hall, Lamonte McLemore, and Murphy Ruffins. Fertik complemented the show with a portrait of each of the photographers, and Patricia Housen included excerpts from oral history interviews. The California African American Museum is now revamping the exhibition to celebrate the donation of the 35 prints to its Permanent Collection. The photographs present celebrity musicians, actors, politicians and civil leaders and activists in a variety of settings in Los Angeles. The African American photographers in the Light Catchers exhibition had to use their cameras, their wits and their entrepreneurial talents to survive in an atmosphere that offered little encouragement for minorities. This exhibit is a celebration of their ultimate success

flash tag

March 26, 2015 - August 2, 2015

CAAM Courtyard Series: FROM WOMEN’S HANDS

LOOKIN’ BACK in FRONT of ME:

Eric Cre8 Walker, 2015.

Digitalimage

FLASH TAG is a creative engagement project that invited “graffiti” artists, more specifically four crews comprised of well-known and highly respected street artists, to transform and populate the walls of an empty gallery. However, the artists were given the challenge of rendering their art concepts with brushes rather than aerosol paints. The featured artists are known for their past participation in programs and exhibitions at The Getty, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and various Los Angeles area schools. From March 26-29, 2015, visitors can view the artists in action and watch the creative process unfold. In addition, CAAM and the artists will use social media to market and advertise the project and their artworks.

Bloody Sunday: March from Selma to Montgomery, 1965. Spider Martin Civil Rights Collection

The 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: A Photographic Remembrance from the Spider Martin Civil Rights Collection Now on view After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation became illegal; but many tactics still existed to intimidate and suppress the Black vote throughout the South. By early 1965, Selma, Alabama became the next battleground in the struggle for equality. CAAM presents a mini photography exhibit recounting the three historic marches led by Dr. King, from Selma to Montgomery. These marches, beginning with “Bloody Sunday” on March 7, 1965, were instrumental in the final defeat of Jim Crow practices at the ballot box, making voter suppression illegal. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voters Right Act into law on August 6, 1965, with Dr. King looking on. The exhibition also includes the personal journey of Elise Woodson, CAAM’s Program Manager of Education who traveled throughout the South last April, when she visited historic places, met iconic figures of the modern Civil Rights Movement, and marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Special Thanks CAAM and its Foundation would like to thank those who answered the call and helped us to exceed our 2014 fundraising goals.

Cover: Herald, 2oth century, Edo culture, Benin. Cast brass.

Gift of The Scott Campbell Family

selected works of MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD, 1974-2014 September 25, 2014 –July 5, 2015

Castillo, Bre Gipson, Kristine Mays, Raksha Parekh, Michelle Robinson

Widely known in the California art community for his tenures as Director of the Watts Towers Arts Center and of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Mark Steven Greenfield has tirelessly supported the work of local visual artists for several decades. Over the same period he also established a reputation for his own artistic practice, both as a graphic designer and a fine artist. Lookin’ Back in Front of Me displays a body of work that Greenfield himself has described as unapologetically didactic as it is based on his research on literature, cinema, history, and the visual arts. The artist’s interests range from early investigations of the Science of Creative Intelligence (his Cosmic Consciousness series) –a meditative practice that stirred large abstract interpretations of the astrophysical–to figurative work inspired by Sun Ra and Parliament Funkadelic (his Afrofuturistic works). Greenfield has also delved into the artistic renaissance of LA’s Crenshaw community (his Crenshaw’s Consciousness series), gang culture, genealogy (his Iconography pieces), and more recently, African American stereotypes (his Blackatcha, Doo Dahz, and Animalicious), and the re-contextualization of American appropriations of African spiritual practices (Eguns).

We feature the art of five women of color who address female presence and agency.

These artists have filled our Courtyard with large installations that, though widely varying in materials and style, have in common metaphorical references to the female body and experience. Castillo and Kristine Mays focus on traditional sources of female power: hair and clothing, respectively. Castillo incorporates actual human hair into imposing wall-hung mounds as a tribute to her ancestors, while Mays creates airy, metal-knitted garments that express female strength despite their apparent fragility. Other works subtly convey womanhood: Michelle Robinson paints geometrical figures and feathery lines on the wall and on a large wooden structure that evokes the female body, and Bre Gipson’s mantra-like, gestural paintings incorporate undulating organic shapes reminiscent of natural forms. Raksha Parekh’s stitched canvases encode symbols of slavery and forced labor into deceivingly appealing fields of warm colors and delicate tone gradations.

These works are crafted from sugar, a sweet substance associated with domesticity that Parekh turns bitter through a burning process.

Patron Saint of Middle Passengers, c. 1997 Mark Steven Greenfield. Mixed media on wood Mott-Warsh Collection, Flint, Michigan

shared otherness A collaboration with USC’s Roski School of Art and Design May 28, 2015- August 30, 2015 The California African American Museum (CAAM), in collaboration with USC’s Roski School of Art and Design presents Shared Otherness, an exhibition of work by USC Jean Pongsai, 2015. Digital image Roski students and part of CAAM’s ongoing Courtyard Series. This is the second such collaboration between USC’s Roski and CAAM. Shared Otherness is a mixed-media exhibition referencing the communities USC and CAAM share. USC artists and designers mix conceptual and concrete ideas, addressing their immediate geographical context while also contributing their voices to larger, national, and international dialogues. Through Shared Otherness, the students seek to meet the diversity and change ever present around them with an exhibition equally as dynamic and multi-faceted. The students are guided by the collaborative professional team of Sherin Guirguis, Assistant Professor of Art at the USC Roski School of Art and Design, and Vida L. Brown, Visual Arts Curator and Ed Garcia, Exhibition Supervisor at CAAM.

November 7, 2014 - May 3, 2015

CAAM lined up a talented group of performers as part of our “Cake For King”/Target Sundays at CAAM event.

ANNUAL “CAKE FOR KING” TARGET SUNDAY DELIGHTS ATTENDEES On January 19th, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday by participating in the annual King Day Parade along Crenshaw. Later that same day we featured a special Target Sunday at CAAM with performers, storytelling, and art workshops. The coup de grâce was seeing our community members and visitors line up to receive delicious slices of ‘Cake for King’ in honor of the man who reminded us all to dream––and to dream big!

The Evidence of Things Unseen, 2014 (detail) Bre Gipson. Acrylic spray and acrylic paint on wall Courtesy of the artist and the Reginald Ingraham Gallery

The African American Journey West: permanent collection Now on view

This reprised exhibition chronicles the history of African Americans through artwork and historical artifacts that illustrate their long journey from the West Coast of Africa to present day California.

Wool shawl and scarf belonging to Eliza Corsey, c. 1850-60s.

Gift of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Los Angeles Province

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS Community engagement is one of the most important pillars of our work at CAAM. We take great pride in sharing the arts, history and culture of African Americans beyond the confines of our gallery walls. To commemorate Black History Month throughout February 2015, CAAM staffers either made presentations or represented CAAM at a variety of events at The Wilshire Ebell Women’s Club; Wells Fargo; Macy’s at the Crenshaw Plaza Mall; Southern California Edison; Caltrans; and other venues. Reaching out to the larger community is a great way to introduce CAAM to potential museum visitors who may be unfamiliar with our work here, build relationships with like-minded organizations, and strengthen ties with our constituencies.

MUSEUM ATTENDANCE ON THE UPTICK Within our museum walls, our many new and intriguing exhibitions, programs and events are increasingly well-attended. We’re delighted to announce that during the first three months of 2015 we hosted more than 15,000 visitors ranging from touring groups, classes of school children, and families––to name just a few. And our revamped African Americans in the Civil War exhibition at Los Angeles Public Library boasted more than 10,000 visitors in the course of its run at the Central Library. We’re confident this upward trajectory will continue throughout the year.

Don’t forget to keep checking our website: www.caamuseum.org. for exciting updates. caam / LA ZOO COLLABORATION IS A HIT We kicked off Black History Month with a slightly different twist this year. During the weekend of February 7-8, we collaborated with the skilled marketing, communications and special events teams at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) to produce programming featuring the Lula Washington Dance Theater; raconteur extraordinaire, Michael D. McCarty, art workshops facilitated by Teresa Tolliver, the African dance company Africa Soul and blues-inspired music provided by Leo Key and The Company. We thank the wonderful GLAZA team comprised of Kait Hillard, VP of Marketing; Melissa Grossenbacher, Associate Director of Special Events; Emily Marrin, Marketing & Communications Manager; and Mari Vazquez, Special Events Manager for partnering with us and creating a memorable event.

Scenes from the Black History Month Celebration at the LA Zoo. Pictured are members of African Soul in full regalia; art workshop facilitator Teresa Tolliver, and one very happy Zoo visitor.