PREVIEW: Revisionist Future by Mandy Messina
Alexander Tamahn mural on side of Fulton Street Books, image by the artist
One hundred years after an American tragedy, two local artists are presenting viewers with a provocative challenge: Imagine Greenwood 2121. Artist Antoine Andrews puts it succinctly, “I feel like I’m living my life backwards right now—what do I want people to think of me 100 years from now?” He and collaborating artist, Alexander Tamahn, want to acknowledge the people living in their community, Greenwood.“We are the change we’ve been waiting for,” elaborates Tamahn, echoing a former president as he unpacks the concept of Revisionist Futures. “As opposed to waiting for institutions, organizations, systems outside of ourselves to elevate us, amplify us, mobilize us, we’ve seen time and time again that grassroot efforts make a major difference.” The artists
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shared hope for the exhibition is that it can help viewers take ownership of their future. In that spirit, “the purpose of this show is to highlight our peers,” Andrews says.
include us and involve us. That’s great, but we’re by no means the only group of Black and brown artists in Tulsa even,” says Tamahn, a founding member.
Considering the effects of the current pandemic, Tamahn acknowledges that a lot can happen in a year, but emphasizes how this exercise can impact one’s focus. “If you start fleshing out what you want for yourself 50 years from now, you’re more inclined to function with an intention that helps sustain that vision. What changes do you have to make now, so that your (vision) is attainable?”
While he’s an interdisciplinary artist, Tamahn is currently focused on mural work because of the impact on a community’s visual landscape. “Public art is something that no one needs permission to access and engage with.” He says the importance of exposure to art is significant because institutions that exhibit art have historically been exclusionary of BIPOC. “There’s a reason we’re underrepresented in those spaces—they weren’t created for us.”
Black Moon Collective is a Tulsa artist cohort in its third year of operation. “In our first year as a collective we had between 30 - 35 showings just because so many people were wanting to
For Andrews that point hits home in a big way when friends affirm him as an artist.
