WASH July 2009 : Page 38
THE RADAR | NIGHTLIFE DJ PORTRAITS BY ABBY GREENAWALT; UNTITLED BY JEFF HENRIQUEZ, SUPPLIED BY THE GALLERY AT FLASHPOINT; TK BY IONA ROZEAL BROWN, SUPPLIED BY ADAMSON EDITIONS. CROSS-FADERS Clockwise from top middle: Artist Iona Rozeal Brown, who painted “…you opened my eyes man, thought i had a man, but how could i eye scan…,” will spin at the Hirshhorn After Hours. Artist Jeff Henriquez’s Untitled will hang at the Gallery at Flashpoint for M3: MCs, Mics and Metaphors. Portraits of DJs Heather Femia, Todd Love Supreme, Sam “The Man” Burns, Saucee, Stylo, Ca$$idy, Jahsonic, Phoenix and Adrian Loving will hang throughout Northwest and Northeast DC in a campaign to bring DJs respect as artists. Tables Turned DC’s DJs and visual artists scratch out the next big mix | By Karen Sommer Shalett | When Iona Rozeal Brown takes to the tables on July 24 at Hirshhorn’s hot After Hours party, it won’t be the first time she’s mixed it up. It will, however, be her début as a DJ in a museum that not only hangs Calders, de Koonings and Lichtensteins, but a painting of her own. Artist-as-DJ is the latest spin on the art world’s fascination with all things hip-hop. But the fever pitch arrives this summer at the Flashpoint Gallery’s M3:MCs, Mics and Metaphors, curated by artist and Bowie State University associate professor of visual communication Tewodross Melchishua. “Tere’s a lot of overlap between MC/DJs and artists,” says Melchishua. “Both disciplines are about layering and texture. As the DJ builds a tapestry of sound, artists create a visual call-and-response.” Many of today’s hip-hop visual artists see themselves as a foil to rappers; they put out a message and await an MC to respond. Sometimes the artist and rapper are one and the same. An example is Jabari Hall-Smith, who will be showing an animated piece set to his own beat breaks. Te art-music mix is not new, but its influence is. “Te visual artist Romare Bearden wrote music and Miles Davis painted,” says Melchishua. “But it is new to discuss how hip-hop affects art, design and even architecture.” Te Flashpoint Gallery show will represent the work of 18 artists who grew up during the heyday of hip- hop’s emergence; many were inspired by the godfather of the movement, Afrika Bambaataa, who will attend the July 23 opening. Melchishua has high hopes for the 38 | | July/August 2009 event. “I’m inviting a dialogue between the older and younger generations of hip-hop culture to challenge the commercialization, racism, materialism, misogyny and ‘wackness’ of the current state of hip-hop,” he says. Flashpoint expects to see its share of young MCs. Te gallery is installing artist-in-residence Brent “Munch” Joseph in its DJ booth and DC native Asheru will host the opening. On August 8, Melchishua hopes things get a bit more cerebral with a jam session and panel on the role of artists and DJs in the creative world. Graphic designer, gallerist and DJ Adrian Loving has his own ideas about spinners’ spots on the food chain. He doesn’t think it’s high enough. So he gathered 15 DC DJs together to create the “Deejays Are Not Jukeboxes” public-service announcement, which he hopes will raise the volume on respecting your DJ. Te bold (and even amusing) street-art campaign will be visible starting in mid-July in Northeast and Northwest DC public spaces and on flyers and T-shirts in clubs throughout the city. For photographer Abby Greenawalt, who shot the campaign, the creatives were ideal inspiration. “Being a DJ is part of who they are—it’s very personal,” she says. “I wanted to capture emotions that aren’t always associated with these individuals.” M3: MCs, Mics and Metaphors, July 23–Aug. 29, flash pointdc.org; Hirshhorn After Hours, July 24, hirshhorn. si.edu; Deejays Are Not Jukeboxes, dissidentdisplay.com.
Night Life:Tables Turned
When Iona Rozeal Brown takes to the tables on July 24 at Hirshhorn’s hot After Hours party, it won’t be the first time she’s mixed it up. It will, however, be her début as a DJ in a museum that not only hangs Calders, de Koonings and Lichtensteins, but a painting of her own.
Artist-as-DJ is the latest spin on the art world’s fascination with all things hip-hop. But the fever pitch arrives this summer at the Flashpoint Gallery’s M3: Mcs, Mics and Metaphors, curated by artist and Bowie State University associate professor of visual communication Tewodross Melchishua. “ere’s a lot of overlap between MC/DJs and artists,” says Melchishua. “Both disciplines are about layering and texture. As the DJ builds a tapestry of sound, artists create a visual call-and-response.” Many of today’s hip-hop visual artists see themselves as a foil to rappers; they put out a message and await an MC to respond. Sometimes the artist and rapper are one and the same. An example is Jabari Hall-Smith, who will be showing an animated piece set to his own beat breaks.
e art-music mix is not new, but its influence is. “e visual artist Romare Bearden wrote music and Miles Davis painted,” says Melchishua. “But it is new to discuss how hip-hop affects art, design and even architecture.” e Flashpoint Gallery show will represent the work of 18 artists who grew up during the heyday of hiphop’s emergence; many were inspired by the godfather of the movement, Afrika Bambaataa, who will attend the July 23 opening. Melchishua has high hopes for the event. “I’m inviting a dialogue between the older and younger generations of hip-hop culture to challenge the commercialization, racism, materialism, misogyny and ‘wackness’ of the current state of hip-hop,” he says.
Flashpoint expects to see its share of young Mcs. e gallery is installing artist-in-residence Brent “Munch” Joseph in its DJ booth and DC native Asheru will host the opening. On August 8, Melchishua hopes things get a bit more cerebral with a jam session and panel on the role of artists and Djs in the creative world.
Graphic designer, gallerist and DJ Adrian Loving has his own ideas about spinners’ spots on the food chain. He doesn’t think it’s high enough. So he gathered 15 DC Djs together to create the “Deejays Are Not Jukeboxes” public-service announcement, which he hopes will raise the volume on respecting your DJ.
e bold (and even amusing) street-art campaign will be visible starting in mid-July in Northeast and Northwest DC public spaces and on flyers and T-shirts in clubs throughout the city. For photographer Abby Greenawalt, who shot the campaign, the creatives were ideal inspiration. “Being a DJ is part of who they are—it’s very personal,” she says. “I wanted to capture emotions that aren’t always associated with these individuals.” M3: Mcs, Mics and Metaphors, July 23–Aug. 29, flash pointdc.org; Hirshhorn After Hours, July 24, hirshhorn.
Si.edu; Deejays Are Not Jukeboxes, dissidentdisplay.com.
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