The world offers itself to your imagination
Dennis and I met this week to review, assess and plan for the semester of AYB programming. Dennis brought along actual print copies of MEANS magazine, and they look great!
We are so proud to be featured as the lead article in MEANS Magazine issue 7 which focuses on grassroots arts organizations. We have a small amount of copies available for sale for $20 each. Which covers printing and shipping cost from the UK and a small donation to AYB. Please contact us (frida@artyardbklyn.org) to purchase your copy.
Advanced Studio on zoom
The week commenced with Adji Ngathe Kebe leading Advanced Studio on zoom in the exploration of some of the traditional African masks which influenced Picasso in his 1907 painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.
Kpele Kpele Mask, 19th century, and Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907
Adji explains: “We looked at traditional African masks, taking note of form and ways or representing the face and head of humans and animals. To further the exploration, I shared images of the work of contemporary African artists Iba N’diaye and Baya Mahieddine studying ways that both artists abstract and represent facial features.
I asked participating artists to create a piece inspired by traditional African masks, using the materials of their choice. The work that was produced as a result were varied and excellent.”
Rose Merola, Richard Lee Chong, Meridith McNeal, Marilyn J. August and Aaron W., Mask inspired artwork
Pat talks about her piece: “I was really struck by Adji’s comments that the African masks have spiritual importance—when someone puts on a mask, they invoke the spirit, the spirit enters them, etc. So initially I thought that I would use cutouts from an old calendar of “Celestial Skies” images for the eyes, as portals for spiritual power. But the empty eyes also have a power of their own. I haven’t glued on the cutouts, and maybe I never will.”
Pat Larash, Mask Inspired Artwork l & ll
Travis explains his work: “This sketch began with the song “Anna Nicole” playing over and over in my head. Thinking about Anna Nicole Smith as a symbol of beauty and desire, I imagined a male figure lying in a coffin, adorned with a feminine mask and cascading golden, copper, and brown curls.
Drawing on my impressions of ancient Egyptian burial masks and the adornment of the dead, I wanted to create something both beautiful and unsettling—part glamour, part witchy apparition, with a touch of Hannibal Lecter. The mask becomes a way of honoring femininity and the dead while exploring the tension between masculine and feminine, attraction and unease.
Made with watercolor, Sharpie, and Micron pen, the piece was also an opportunity to work freely, letting loose marks and abstract shapes carry the image somewhere unexpected.”
Meridith pointed out during critique that Luna’s piece called to mind the work of Niki de Saint Phalle's drawing of her Tarot Garden installation.
Luna Velayandom Neven du Mont, Mask Inspired Artwork, and Niki de Saint Phalle, Tarot Garden, 1991
Vee's digital piece is a revamped image of their mother and uncles in DR. During critique we noted the skill with which Vee incorporated mask imagery into the family portrait, and how seamlessly the masks evoked the people they stand in for.
Advanced Studio In Person
Margaret Hardigg taught her inaugural Advanced Studio session in person at 180 Franklin Avenue this week, and it was fantastic!!
Margaret summarizes: “On Tuesday, I taught my first Art Yard class on ekphrastic poetry. Translating from Greek to mean “description,” ekphrasis is a poetic device used to reflect on a work of art, and the poet often builds meaning upon the original artwork.
In this lesson, we studied paintings and read the accompanying writing to better understand ekphrastic poetry. To begin class, we looked at the painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus attributed to Pieter Brueghel the Elder. This painting inspired two ekphrastic poems; the first by William Carlos Williams of the same title and W.H. Auden’s poem “Musee des Beaux Arts.” Next we discussed an inverse example, where Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Lady of Shalott” was the inspiration for John William Waterhouse’s painting of the same name.
“But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights”
Alfred Lord Tennyson, from The Lady of Shalott (1832)
After studying the artwork, we read three more poems that would be the main sources of inspiration for the pieces created in class. We talked about which verses were our favorites and what visuals in the poems stuck out to us. From there, the artists drew their interpretations of the poems.
I chose three poems that have vivid imagery of nature tied to feelings of belonging. These were “Privacy” by Ada Limón from her collection The Hurting Kind, “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver from her 1986 collection Dream Work, and “Early Morning, My Birthday” from Mary Oliver’s 1992 New and Selected Poems. Artists were free to choose from color pencil, oil pastels and collage materials to create their works.
I was first introduced to the work of Brueghel and William Carlos Williams at a summer camp poetry class in 2016. The paintings and poems I discussed back then have stuck with me all this time, and ART YARD’s theme of Drawing the Line brought me back to this connection between writing and visual art.
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
William Carlos Williams
According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring
a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry
of the year was
awake tingling
near
the edge of the sea
concerned
with itself
sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax
unsignificantly
off the coast
there was
a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning
Margaret continues: “I loved seeing how each artist responded to both the paintings and poems with such range. There was an extra calm presence during class today as we all focused on creating. At critique, it was a fun puzzle for us all to spot which verses and images made their way into each piece.
Dylan captured the final moments of Icarus with a delicate and devastating flourish: “a splash quite unnoticed / this was / Icarus drowning.”
Dalanny brought the vibrancy of Mary Oliver’s verse “the fish leaps, all rainbow and mouth, from the dark water” alive on the page with broad strokes and swirls.
Flo brought elements of religious imagery and Greek myths into his collage piece. There are several playful elements from the sun with arms to the sign in the Garden of Eden warning Adam and Eve.
Juiszelle drew inspiration from Oliver’s verse “I do not want…to teach [the children] that they are (they are not) better than the grass.” She incorporated fiery streaks falling into the water symbolizing Icarus’ descent.
Ed’s intricate fence illustrates this sense of privacy and the bird flying away leaves us within this silent enclosure.
Abriel drew two pieces and I especially loved the repetition of “What to Do” encircling a cat, echoing Oliver’s “What shall I do, what shall I do?”
Abriel (bob) Gardner, Ekphrasis - What to Do
Meridith and Leah reimagined the two crows in Limón’s “Privacy” in dark silhouettes in different materials.
Sebastien made excellent use of gold paper in his piece, capturing wings and great eye.
Fisola was incredibly artful in the construction of a 3-D wild goose taking flight.
"Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination"
Mary Oliver, Wild Geese
Kevin created a warm spider’s web with raspberries as a miniature Icarus flies ever closer to the sun.
Molly’s pair of heron conjure the feeling on stillness and staying grounded.
Vee’s spider and red thumb create a stark and vibrant contrast together.
I (Margaret) drew inspiration from the poem “Privacy” as well, layering “bruja’s eyes” on a branch.
Ajani drew a maze-like interpretation of the poems with faces tucked inside of you look closely.
Cheyenne captures the serene essence of “Wild Geese” with cascading colors, flowing water, and migrating birds.
Jacob walked into the adjoining room at 180 and wrote his own series of ekphrastic poems based off of Ajani’s Drawing the Line exhibit.
Poems for Ajani,
by Jacob Rath
ART YARD Art Matters in the School
Dennis Buonagura enthusiastically introduces Denzel Jeter: “As part of our Teacher Training Program, artists and administrators arrive at our door(s) from various sources. Some teachers begin training as interns. Some fit in right away, others need a bit of extra guidance. We hit the jackpot this semester with our newest intern/part-timer, Denzel Jeter, who jumped in feet first and hasn’t stopped!
Denzel came highly recommended by his professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, AYB Artist Marie Roberts. I knew she would never mislead us, so after a bit of back-and-forth email with Denzel, we offered him the spot. I was impressed—he replied to my email QUICKLY and professionally. We were about to begin a full-time, short-term program at PS 34, The President Barack Obama School, and Denzel eagerly accepted the position to assist us with classroom organization, assisting and encouraging students, among other things. Oh, and preparing work, curating work, and installing work. Not to mention that he lives on the block where the school is located! Excellent!
At the end of our five-days-a-week-for-four-weeks cycle, I asked Denzel to create an exhibit of the kindergartners’ and first graders’ work while I worked on installing other classes. I offered only two instructions: 1. The school would prefer that we not remove the decorative borders on their bulletin boards, and 2. the school would prefer that we refrain from using our heavy-duty stapler and just use one of the school’s regular desk staplers. Denzel looked at me, said nothing, and went to work. I mean, he literally was laying out work on the floor and stapling it to the board within about THREE MINUTES of our conversation!
He took the initiative (knowing I hate the decorative borders but was following school protocol) and created a removable border that covers the school’s border without damaging it in any way. It was the perfect fit for the project—the Sol LeWitt woven pieces.
The school’s principal, Dr. Janeen Maniscalco, said to me, “I am so happy to see Denzel is on board with Art Yard.” HUH???? I didn’t know what to think. Turns out, she was Denzel’s fourth-grade science teacher at another school! Then, to add to his celebrity status at PS 34, other teachers would stop and say, “Hey, Denzel.” My face would be saying, “What am I—chopped liver?” Several of these other teachers (who don’t know me because their students weren’t in any of AYB’s classes) had also been HIS teachers at his school. That’s not all—two kids in our classes turned out to be Denzel’s niece and nephew! He is so poised and professional that he apparently felt it might not be appropriate to tell me any of this.
I’ve kept Marie up to date on his progress, and it seems to me that she is not at all surprised. Her introductory description of Denzel was spot-on in every aspect.
Once we begin at our other Jersey City schools, and if his school schedule permits, I hope he’ll continue to work with us and observe our seasoned teaching artists closely so he can create a lesson plan and teach.
Welcome, Denzel!”
Other Art News
Ajani Russell shares a new drawn portrait of Abriel (bob):
Travis Pereira recently completed a new piece. “I reimagined Bal Harbour Shops thousands of years into the future, with floating gardens, waterfalls, and a woman exploring in her personal spacecraft. Created in watercolor for their Creative Challenge, the piece brings together my love of Afrofuturism, fashion, and lush reimagined fantasy realms.”
I (Meridith) am working on a new Inside Outside painting, a reflective window I spied near my dentist’s office on Court Street in Carroll Gardens.
Exhibitions to See
Jacob Rath alerts us: “There is going to be an exhibition of Ghanaian movie posters this weekend at Selva Projects in Bushwick!” Jacob recently introduced us to this fantastic art practice in Advanced Studio on zoom, we were blown away and can’t wait to see some examples in person!
TJ Edgar brings to our attention: “To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare, opening today at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC sounds like a really interesting exhibition!!” The exhibit explores the lives, legacies, and creative contributions of Black women who have engaged with Shakespeare, using his work to challenge exclusion, reshape narratives, and claim their place in history.
Drawing on new research into the presence of Black women in early modern Europe, the exhibition examines how they were represented—and misrepresented—by artists and writers of the time. Nearly 100 objects, including photographs, playbills, posters, books, diaries, illustrations, and costumes, bring together stories of cultural figures such as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Lorraine Hansberry, Phillis Wheatley, and many others.
Through the voices of actors, scholars, authors, artists, musicians, and directors, To Hear Her Speak celebrates the ways Black women have made Shakespeare their own, transforming his words into new possibilities.
Rachael Wren invites us to see her new work: “I'm happy to be taking part in the 30th Annual Gowanus Open Studios this weekend, October 17-18. My studio is located at 62 18th Street, 2nd floor, Brooklyn. I'll be there from 12-3 pm on both Saturday and Sunday!”
Reminder: If you have not yet seen Ajani Russell’s exhibition Drawing The Line in The Gallery at 180 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn, that you are welcome to come view show Tuesday evenings from 6-8pm when we are there for Advanced Studio, or by appointment (frida@artyardbklyn.org).
Ajani’s friend Bearcat comments that the exhibition is “Very punk in the age of ai. These days a paper on the wall exhibit documenting intimate real life conversations seems a novel idea 😭”
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