Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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12 UCW JUNE 2-8, 2021 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM EVENT In an effort to continue the discussion on social justice, Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery is exhibiting Art & Social Justice, a national juried exhibition until June 26. For gallery owners Dwight Smith and Calvin Mims, like many of the exhibits, it is a way "for people to see the world from a different perspective." Over 155 works of art were sent to be juried into the gallery or the online exhibit based on the pro- spectus: "We are living in a tumultuous time; the pandemic has illuminated many of the inequities in our country. How do we move towards equity? Why do we seem to be moving away from fairness? Make an impact with your visually representation of feelings and thoughts on social injustice today … we hope the exhibition will continue the discussion of our path to social justice." Although the dominant theme in the exhibition is Black Lives Matter, artists have submitted an unex- pected range of themes, styles and mediums based on the principle of social justice: every individual in a society has the same rights and opportunities to be treated fairly and equitably by the society they live in. An unexpected subject by Korean artist, Sueim Koo, from Ridgefield, New Jersey, is a good example of why visitors should come to the gallery or visit the exhibit online and take the time to read the artists' statement. In her work titled "Marriage Life (I was Covering my Eyes, Ears and Mouth)," Koo mixes abstraction and realism, predominantly green and pastel colors, abstracted faces are covered by realistic hands and arms on a background of patterns. Without knowing what the artist intended, "Mar- riage Life" immediately leads us to understand there is a hidden social justice theme taking place. Koo's artist's statement is specific: "I am covering my eyes, ears and mouth with my hands in reference to the principle 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.'" It is also in direct reference to a Korean proverb about marriage. According to this proverb, a new bride should be blind for three years so she will not criti- cize anything she sees, dumb for three years so she won't speak out and say something she may regret later, and deaf for three years so she won't be upset by being scolded." Koo's work is built on a basic social justice prem- ise: the value of oneself in a culture (and to herself ) is not greater or lesser than others. e artist speaks to this by stating, "the proverb of the bride can also be used to describe my life as an immigrant … I would sometimes avoid situations in which I would be seen as a foreigner … there were many times I had to pretend not to see or not to hear in order to over- come feelings of humiliation. We must avoid these hurts caused by unfair beliefs about people with different skin colors, different language, different cultures and different gender." In sharp contrast to "Marriage Life," the digitally enhanced gouache titled "Circus Noir" by Robert Arbogast, from St. Augustine, Florida, stands out in the exhibit. Smaller than many of the works sur- rounding the print, the artist has said much with a minimal graphic design. Shapes and text in black, red, white and minimal green will speak to viewers from across the gallery to look closer — the artist mixes signals to create intent. Arbogast's statement clears up the confusion: "'Circus Noir' was inspired by circus posters. In that context, the image could be interpreted as a 'trick shot,' shooting a lit cigarette from a man's mouth. e image can also be viewed as execution, the black man smoking a last cigarette before being shot. e ambiguity is intentional. But the hand holding the gun is white, an intentional ref- erence to the epidemic of Black men being murdered by policemen." e above are only two of the thirty-six works hanging in the gallery. e styles range from realism to abstraction, textiles, mixed media to paintings. Just as diverse are the social justice themes artists addressed in their work. Black Live Matter is a preva- lent theme, but other themes include, but are not limited to, #MeToo, sexual orientation and gender identity, immigration and poverty. Curator- juror, Rose-Ann San Martino, must have had a difficult time selecting the award winners from such a varied range of work; but her experience as a professional artist, art advocate and being involved with Ellington-White Corporation since 2008 is a strong background of experience. San Martino stud- ied drawing and painting at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. Her work has been exhibited locally and nationally in group and solo exhibitions and can be found in private collections throughout the United States. San Martino worked from a valid system of assess- ment: "e work had to be well crafted, adhere to the theme of the exhibit, and the intent of the work needed to be immediately recognizable. Many excel- lent works were submitted, but the subject did not follow the theme of social justice." She continued, "How does one select between a textile wall hanging, a print, photograph or a paint- ing for an award? It's never a hierarchical decision based on a medium, the image needed to be instant- ly recognizable and reflect what the artists included in the artists' statement. Being recognizable can fall into the cerebral or sublime. For example, the first- place winning entry, a black and white photograph by Richard Perry, from Chapel Hill is an example of the cerebral — a hand pressing against a chain link fence is an image which immediately symbolizes not just one theme, but many themes of social justice." As the curator and juror of Art & Social Justice, "I was not surprised but pleased that artists addressed so many different themes, and their approaches to the themes ranged from extremely serious to humor- ous and even quirky. For visitors to the gallery, or the online exhibit, should take the time to read the artist's statement. We all bring our own meaning to a work but reading the artist's statement may give someone a new way to look at a theme or an artist's approach to a theme." Other awards by San Martino include Jeremy Wan- gler, "7," photography (2nd), and Sueim Koo, "Mar- riage Life (I was Covering my Eyes, Ears and Mouth)," mixed media (3rd). Honorable Mentions were given to a textile wall hanging titled "Gaslighter" by Mel Dugosh and "Circus Noir" by Robert Arbogast. You will have to visit the gallery (or go online) and see firsthand how artists have created works which intersect with political activism and social justice causes. e only artist from Fayetteville in the exhibit is Andrew Johnson. e exhibit is a means for raising awareness about social issues and affecting positive change. For in- formation and to view the online exhibit, visit www. ellington-white.com/art-social-justice-exhibition. e gallery is located at113 Gillespie St. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday. For more information email ewp-arts@hotmail.com or call 910-483-1388. SONI MARTIN, Gallery 208 Curator. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. COVER Ellington-White art exhibition highlights fight for social justice by SONI MARTIN "At the Fence" by Richard Perry "Circus Noir" by Robert Arbogast "Marriage Life" by Sueim Koo