Congratulations to Morton Fine Art’s KESHA BRUCE for having four images from her iconic (Re)calling & (Re)telling photo series featured in “Black is Beautiful” by Kara Hinderlie in Rethinking Schools!
Click HERE to view available artwork by KESHA BRUCE.
In 1926, historian Carter G Woodson along with other prominent leaders from the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) sponsored the first Negro History Week. Negro History Week, sought to promote the teachings of Black American legacy and achievement, especially in the nation’s public schools and universities. This seven day celebration during the second week of February was later officially extended to a month long holiday by President Ford in 1976.
Much has happened in this country since 1926, Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, the first Black President was elected twice and the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened its doors. As we use this month as an opportunity to honor the central role of African Americans within US history, we must also remember to salute those who are now actively creating their own legacy. We at Morton Fine Art acknowledge and prioritize the advancements made by African Americans within this country, and applaud and thank artists, activists and educators who have made it a goal to do so within their practice. Artists such as Maya Freelon Asante, Kesha Bruce and Nathaniel Donnett who continually use their artistic medium to preserve and highlight the stories of African Americans.
MAYA FREELON ASANTE, Past Tense Present, 2015, 8.5”x18″, tissue ink mono/photo print
Inspired by her discovery of a stack of water-soaked colored paper in her grandmother’s basement, Freelon Asante’s tissue ink mono photo prints speak to the power of familial history, connected-ness and renewal. Bruce, who also found inspiration from a grandparent’s belongings, reconceptualizes the Black American experience in her photo series (Re) Calling & (Re) Telling, through old and damaged negatives given to her by her grandfather. Bruce’s and Freelon Asante’s use of archival images to explore the connections between personal mythologies and collective memory both help to re-center the black family unit within the American narrative.
KESHA BRUCE, That They Might Be Lovely, 12″x9″, archival pigment print, edition of 15
Nathaniel Donnett’s work articulates the complex cultural concerns of a “united nation” still divided by racial tension. In his Small Bag series, Donnett makes reference to the “paper bag test” and its South African equivalent the “pencil test,” (two tests used to distinguish a person’s racial identity and/or their ability to “pass” as white) while prompting his viewers to take a four question test of their own that relate to acceptable beauty standards, microaggressions and racial biases. By asking his audience to finish statements like; “Good hair can be A) Kinky B) Straight C) Wavy D) All of the above,” he brings to light America’s legacy of racism, colorism and its obsession with classification.
NATHANIEL DONNETT, Small Bag 18, 10.75″x5″ graphite, charcoal and printed ink on paper
bag
Although Black History Month is quickly coming to a close, we should continue to support these artists as they maintain their dedication in keeping the stories of our ancestors alive.
-MARTINA DODD for Morton Fine Art, February 2017
1781 Florida Ave NW (at 18th & U Sts)
Washington, DC 20009
Sunday 12pm-5pm
Kesha Bruce uses photography as a means to explore new ways of conceptualizing cultural and ethnic identities and histories. Inspired by a collection of old and damaged negatives given to her by her grandfather, (Re)calling and (Re)telling is essentially the next step in the progression of those ideas.
Each photograph in (Re)calling and (Re)telling begins with a single large-format negative. Once a print has been made from the negative, fragments of maps, drawings, or other found imagery are manually manipulated directly in front of the camera lens, on a delicately lit three-dimensional set, in order to arrive at a final image. Each image in the series is composed and created “in camera” without the aid of photo-editing software.
(Re)calling and (Re)telling is part history, part personal mythology, and part homage. Each image contains narratives and histories, both real and invented, that give voice to individuals who remain marginalized by the commonly accepted meta-narratives within Western culture.
|
That They Might Be Lovely
That They Might Be Lovely was created by combining three images: The first, a Slave Map, dating from 1857, illustrating slave populations by state and county; a daguerreotype portrait of a slave woman named Delia, taken by Louis Agassiz in 1850; and a photograph of three lovely, smiling women, taken by my grandfather, nearly one hundred years later.
In Delia’s portrait, I saw not just a portrait of a slave, but a portrait of a woman who refused to be shamed by history. Much like the ancient limestone busts of Nefertiti, her profile reveals dignity and strength. And Then I Shall Be Free
My grandfather seemed to have picked up photography as a hobby during the period from 1950-1955 while he was a soldier during the Korean War. He never spoke to me about his photographs until I too began studying photography at University. Then, one day, without explanation, he gave me his entire collection of negatives.
And Then I Shall Be Free combines an archival photograph taken of a slave plantation with an inset self-portrait of my grandfather in uniform. For my grandfather, being a soldier represented the possibility of a better life, and ultimately freedom. –Kesha Bruce Begotten
While religion has never been the subject of my work, my religious upbringing has definitely had a significant influence on my work.
The idea for this image came from an archival photo of slave children on a plantation. This particular photograph of the children brought to mind a biblical verse that had always fascinated me. Nobody Knows Her People
“Nobody Knows Her People” is a phrase I once overheard one of my family members use to explain why nobody really knew much about my grandfather’s mother. Much later, I learned that she was orphaned as a young child and was taken in and raised by another family, eventually taking their last name.
The primary image I’ve incorporated into Nobody Knows Her Peoplewas a very popular abolitionist propaganda drawing that was widely circulated in many different versions and printed in many different publications. I was always struck by the simplicity and the power of this drawing and it immediately came to mind once I’d decided I wanted to create a narrative about history, disconnection, and loss. –Kesha Bruce
About National Museum of African American History & Culture
 The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts. Nearly 100,000 individuals have become charter members of the museum. When the NMAAHC opens on September 24, 2016, it will be the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution.
There are four pillars upon which the NMAAHC stands:
The NMAAHC is a public institution open to all, where anyone is welcome to participate, collaborate, and learn more about African American history and culture. In the words of Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the NMAAHC, “there are few things as powerful and as important as a people, as a nation that is steeped in its history.”
|
KESHA BRUCE, That They Might Be Lovely, 2008, Hand-signed and numbered Archival Pigment Print.
Photographs from (Re)calling & (Re)telling are
currently on view at The Smithsonian National
Museum of American History as a part of
Through the African American Lens.
The exhibition features some of the more than 33,000
artifacts that have been collected by the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of African American History and
Culture (NMAAHC) since its creation in 2003.
Through the African American Lens is the NMAAHC’s
8th exhibition and is on display at the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of American History until
NMAAHC opens to the public on September 24, 2016.
Covering topics such as education, military service,
popular culture, religion, sports, and visual arts, the
exhibition demonstrates how the African American
story is quintessentially an American one of
determination, faith, perseverance, pride, and resilience.
Through the African American Lens
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Washington, D.C.
Contact Morton Fine Art for available artwork by KESHA BRUCE.
Morton Fine Art
1781 Florida Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 628-2787
mortonfineart@gmail.com
Don’t miss KESHA BRUCE’s solo exhibition “Magic Spells & Reminders”. On view at Morton Fine Art through March 17, 2016.
EXHIBITION LOCATION
Morton Fine Art (MFA)
1781 Florida Ave NW (at 18th & U Sts)
Washington, DC 20009
HOURS
Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 6pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm
About Magic Spells & Reminders
(RE)CALLING & (RE)TELLING
Solo Exhibition of photographs by Kesha Bruce
November 5 – 12th, 2011
FOTOWEEK DC 2001
_________________________________
ARTIST TALK AND OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, November 5th 2pm
_________________________________
Morton Fine Art (MFA) is pleased to present (Re)calling & (Re)telling, a solo exhibition of photographs by artist Kesha Bruce in conjunction with Fotoweek DC 2011. The exhibition will be on display from November 5 through November 12, with an opening reception and artist talk with Kesha Bruce on Saturday, November 5th at 2pm.
About (Re)calling & (Re)telling:
History and Meaning: When is a Story More Than Just a Story?
A good story allows us to make sense of the world by helping us to define who we are and understand our place in it. In her Fotoweek DC exhibition, titled (Re)calling and (Re)telling, artist Kesha Bruce offers viewers a contemporary entryway to the rich tradition of storytelling in art through the use of both photography and collage.
For the past several years, Kesha Bruce has created work using an old collection of photographs taken by her grandfather during his years as a soldier during the Korean War. In addition to the many photographs of young African American soldiers going about their daily routines, the collection also included snapshots and informal family portraits taken upon his return home to Des Moines, Iowa. Fascinated by the people and places in each photograph, these images soon became the basis for two complete bodies of work.
The narratives Bruce recreates in (Re)calling and (Re)telling, are composed of a mysterious mix of elements culled from the intimate terrain of memory, nostalgia, and the mundane remnants of daily life.
Also featured at Morton Fine Art is her latest series The Story, comprised of small, intimate mixed media works on paper which render character and place through the use of minimalist texts, each work relating to the next like non-linear chapters of a novel that refuse to settle into a comfortable beginning, middle, and end.
About KESHA BRUCE (France, b. USA):
Born and raised in Iowa, Bruce studied painting at the University of Iowa before going on to earn her MFA in Painting from Hunter College in New York City. She has received awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, The Vermont Studio Center, and The Puffin Foundation. Her photographic work from (Re)calling & (Re)telling was awarded the EnFoco New Works Photography prize and was included in the traveling exhibition Double Exposure: African Americans Before and Behind the Camera.
Morton Fine Art: curator's notes 