While most “urban” art shows tend to be confined to smaller, privately owned gallery spaces around the city (like the great “Wild Style” show at Dissident Display last fall), it is refreshing to see the Smithsonian joining in. National Portrait Gallery is opening its “RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture” exhibit this Friday. The show is to include photography, painting, graffiti and film media, as well as a special screening of “Wild Style” on the 24st with Charlie Ahearn in person.
What to expect (aside from crowds this weekend):
….Images of hip hop stars are as pervasive as the music itself, and the National Portrait Gallery is featuring the work of artists who have explored this phenomenon. David Scheinbaum has been photographing hip hop artists since 2000, both in concert and offstage, including such celebrated groups as Public Enemy, Blackalicious, Phar Cyde, De La Soul and Jurassic-5. Kehinde Wiley, best known for his large, colorful paintings of anonymous young black men, has created portraits of hip hop artists such as LL Cool J and Ice T, each based on a famous European or American painting from the 17th through 19th centuries. Nikki Giovanni wrote a poem that will be transcribed onto walls in the exhibition, and also interpreted artistically by artist Shinique Smith. Two Washington, D.C–based graffiti artists created four portrait murals to be installed in a hallway that connects the galleries. Jefferson Pinder created three video self-portraits that will be included in the installation…..
And in true viral promo mode, there is even a flickr group for all your own hip hop interpretations.
Exhibit opens tomorrow February 8, and runs through to October.
details here: http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/
