The Update Reflection

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JANUARY 8TH – FEBRUARY 26TH LONGWOOD ART GALLERY @ HOSTOS 450 GRAND CONCOURSE, ROOM C-190 BRONX, NY 10451

THE UPDA

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: AUDREAMIA WARDLOW |DILLON GARDNER | ESTELLE MAISONETT | MARK MALAVE | MONICA FLORES | PATRICK ALSTON |ROCIO MARIE CABRERA | RON BAKER | SORINN LILLICO | STANLEY STEEL

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he Update, on view at Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos College from January 18 – February 26 2020, portrayed visions of ultramodern expressions of old traditions by collective and individual Bronx artists.

For generations the Bronx has been a cultural hub colored by the art of its residents. The comments of our community are magnificently displayed through graffiti tags, rap cyphers, poems, gatherings, parades, and public displays of native affection.

The assemblage of work symbolizes how communal regard for neighborhood inevitably enhances the quality of public life. Ron Baker captures this well in his piece MIND ELEVATION (2018), a video performance piece that candidly captures the reactions of NYCHA

residents to money mats placed in the lobby of the project building. Baker and his friends “renovate” the lobby using money mats, plants and literature. Baker stated,

“I feel like the uniform colors and structure of the projects are made purposely to keep the residents stuck. I wanted to help change that.”

Baker’s work speaks to how accessible knowledge is the key to intellectually shifting public perspectives. The symbolism of money mats, plant life and books represent an energetic and spiritual wealth. Baker extends his privately learned cultural experiences as growing up to his surrounding community

as an expression of resistance to the intentionally oppressive structure of NYCHA. His work reflects his connection to his community and the creation of visual, innovative ways to change enforced perspectives.

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mong the many radical responses to rigid social structures, is the eye catching work of Rocio Marie Cabrera. Cabrera combines delicate, natural elements to create vibrant characters like Uptown Baby Liz, Uptown Baby Sam, and Uptown Baby Rocky who depict the flamboyant nature of black feminine expression. The bodies of the characters are composed of cloudy skies, butterflies and starry cosmos. The styles of these idols reflect the unique existence of black femme folks.

Historically, black feminine folks have set the trends for various methods of expression by simply existing, interacting with themselves, and creating their own worlds.

Cabrera depicts the relationship between the surreal, the personal, and community through the inclusion of common items and textures, which create a setting for her characters to live in. Her characters interact with their worlds in the same ways that Bronx native femmes do, standing by a bright red hydrant, swinging a kanekalon ponytail, clutching a rainbow bag, and sipping, or sitting on top of, a coffee

cup. Cabrera’s dimension is a rainbow spectrum of imagined black feminine existence and radical divinity.

It is the intersection of the natural, the ideal and the uncovered.

The expression of these featured artists, each inspired by their connection to the Bronx, unite them and those around them to see, feel and comment on what naturally creates the uptown community.

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Written by Student Journalist, Kehnya Makena

he Update is a carefully curated range of work and narratives expressed uniquely and honestly in relation to the uptown community. The individual pieces represent the artists’ singular relatability to the local world and the completed collection of work displays a space that exists in the hive mind of the surrounding community.