Creatively Speaking

Creatively Speaking: The Artist's Point of View is an event put on by SAM (the Seattle Art Museum) to create a dialogue between artist and public. Artists are invited to discuss the philosophies underlying their work and the audience has the rare opportunity to ask questions (about finished work, process, materials, inspiration, etc.). On April 3rd, Mallar and I attended the series that featured artists: Corin Hewitt and Titus Kaphar.

Hewitt's work combines performance, sculpture and photography. His Weavings project is a result of a week long performance that involved the construction of a studio space within a gallery (with viewing apertures in the walls, so gallery audiences could watch him in action).In this constructed space, Hewitt made eclectic still-life compositions combining a variety of materials (organic materials, historical and artisinal objects, plasticine sculptures of these materials and objects and photographic images of all of the above). Hewitt's description of his motivations and processes were very interesting.

It was Titus Kaphar, however, that drew us to the event. His History in the Making collection questions the position of black subjects in the classic pantheon of "historical" painting.
An MFA graduate of Yale University, Kaphar spent time observing the "great works" featured in the university art gallery at Yale. He is intrigued by the way art is used as a visual construction of history (key moments, key figures, etc). Kaphar's work turns classic paintings on their head (sometimes literally), challenging us to rethink the grand narrative that is presented in the famous European and American portraits of the 18th and 19th century.

Kaphar's paintings open a provocative discourse about race and representation.

Check out this link to hear Kaphar describe some of his pieces.