Ebony Cover by Illustrator Kadir Nelson Projects ‘American Ideals, African American Patriotism, and Love of Family’
STANDING PROUD AND UNITED, a multi-generational African American family is featured on the February 2017 cover of Ebony magazine. They stand before a brick home on an expanse of land with a city skyline visible in the background. The image illustrates a special package featuring 10 thought leaders weighing in on how black communities...
For the Obamas, Art Has Helped Make the White House Feel Like Home
President Obama narrates a look inside his art-filled White House residence. | Obama White House Video IN OCTOBER, PRESIDENT OBAMA hosted “Love & Happiness: A Musical Experience,” the last of many, many musical performances staged at the White House during his two terms. “Over the past eight years, Michelle and I have set aside...
Illustrator Kadir Nelson Envisions Martin Luther King Jr., for Cover of New Yorker
THIS WEEK’S THE NEW YORKER boasts a cover image of Martin Luther King Jr., by Los Angeles artist Kadir Nelson. In the illustration, the civil rights legend’s brow is furrowed. He looks pensive, as though he is not sure what to make of the state of the nation he left behind. “What would...
Cover Stars: The 24 Best Art Magazine Covers of 2016
NOTHING BEATS LEAFING through the pages of a visually inspiring print publication, except perhaps that initial moment of spotting a compelling magazine cover on the newsstand or newly delivered to your mailbox. Over the past year, art magazines have selected winning cover images paying tribute to painter Kerry James Marshall, marking the historic opening...
Frieze Magazine: Betye Saar Reveals 5 Influences in First-Person Reflection on Nearly 70 Years of Art Making
THE LOS ANGELES-BASED ARTIST Betye Saar is known for her assemblage works, mixed-media objects that explore race, history, death and rebirth through found objects. Indeed, Saar herself is enjoying a bit of a renaissance. After serving as a resident faculty member in 1985, Saar returned to Skowhegan in 2014 as a visiting artist. Further,...
In Great Company: According to the New York Times, Artist Kerry James Marshall is Shifting the Color of Art History
A FEW MONTHS AGO, Kerry James Marshall gave First Lady Michelle Obama a tour of “Mastry,” his career-spanning exhibition at MCA Chicago. Now both Marshall and Obama are among “The Greats,” seven people who are redefining our culture, according to the New York Times. Marshall is certainly making his mark on American culture and...
Frieze at 25: British Magazine Marks Milestone Anniversary with Chris Ofili Cover, Review of Significant Artworks Since 1991
TO MARK ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY, the September issue of Frieze magazine features three different covers and a review of the 25 most significant works of art produced over the past quarter century—one for each year since 1991. Chris Ofili was commissioned to create one of the covers for the special issue and was the...
Elle Magazine: New Photo Project by LaToya Ruby Frazier Reminds Americans that Flint Lives Matter
From left, Shea Cobb with her daughter Zion and mother, Ms. Renee, outside the Social Network banquet hall. | Photo courtesy Elle magazine | © LaToya Ruby Frazier, Photo courtesy Elle magazine THE NEWS MEDIA HAS MOVED ON, but there is still a water crisis in Flint, Mich. In April 2014, the city switched...
For The New Yorker, Kadir Nelson Captures Summer at the Beach
Video by CBS This Morning OVER THE WEEKEND, Kadir Nelson appeared on CBS This Morning. The Sunday television program profiled the illustrator whose work is familiar to many, while he remains relatively unknown. The latest edition of The New Yorker features Nelson’s take on “A Day at the Beach,” a powerful, very American image...
Johnson Publishing Sells Ebony and Jet Magazines to Black-Owned Private Equity Firm
EBONY AND JET, the historic magazines that reported on 20th century African American artists and inspired the work of a new generation of contemporary artists, have been sold to Clear View, a black-owned private equity firm. The Austin, Texas-based company purchased the titles from Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) in May for an undisclosed amount. The...
The New Yorker: Cover by Kadir Nelson Celebrates Schomburg Center in Harlem
RECREATING SIGNATURE IMAGES from African American artists Aaron Douglas and William H. Johnson, the latest edition of The New Yorker pays tribute to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Feb. 22 cover by Los Angeles-based illustrator Kadir Nelson is an ensemble image featuring Harlem’s towering figures of the arts and letters,...
Triple Canopy: David Hammons’s First Trip to the South was Prompted by an ‘Outsider’ Art Exhibition
NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO, David Hammons traveled to North Carolina to view the work of “outsider” artists. The elusive artist, who often uses found objects in his own work, had signed on to co-curate “Outside Insight” at Clockwork Gallery in New York. To identify the artists and works to be included in the exhibition, Tom...
Recent Covers: Steve McQueen on ‘T,’ Thelma Golden on ‘Cultured,’ Lorna Simpson on ‘Bookforum,’ and More
THIS SEASON, A VARIETY of magazines feature on their covers some of the most dynamic African American artists (and curator) working today. In addition, the forthcoming issue of the New York Times’s “T” magazine includes Amsterdam-based British artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen on one of six covers for its inaugural The Greats issue celebrating...
New York Times Publishes First-Ever, Art-Themed Issue of Sunday Book Review
FEATURING “ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, art-themed fiction, artist biography, nonfiction about the art world, original photography and original artwork,” the New York Times published its first-ever art-themed Sunday Book Review section today (June 28, 2015). The print version arrived in this morning’s paper, but the reviews began appearing online Wednesday and a specially designed web page...
Porter Magazine Reports on ‘Quiet Power’ of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s Paintings
MYSTERIOUS AND CAPTIVATING are among the descriptors often used to label the subjects in Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s remarkable portraits. Fictional figures, the men and women she paints—whether sitting, standing, reclining, gazing at a floral arrangement or nursing a cup of tea—betray no sense of time or place, and their clothing and spare surroundings don’t offer any...
ARTnews Publishes Special Report on Women in the Art World, Black Artists Respond
BORN IN PORTLAND, ORE., IN 1953, photographer Carrie Mae Weems has steadily built a critically acclaimed, internationally recognized practice. Weems uses photography and video to test and explore assumptions about race, gender, class and history. She is a trailblazer, who had few examples to turn to, model her career after or use as a...
Modern Painters: Engaging African American Artists in Talks About Police Brutality
OVER THE PAST YEAR, visual artists have responded to the steady clip of national news stories about unarmed black men and youth being killed by police. Titus Kaphur painted the Ferguson, Mo., protestors for Time magazine; Dred Scott wrote an essay titled “Illegitimate” for the Walker Art Center on the killing of Michael Brown;...
Recommended: Time on Chris Ofili, Wall St. Journal on Adam Pendleton, W on Hank Willis Thomas
RECOMMENDED FEATURES recently published content from around the web, recommendations from Culture Type worth taking the time to explore: “Visionary Artist: Chris Ofili” by David Adjaye | Time Magazine This week, Time magazine published its annual list of The 100 Most Influential People and Chris Ofili made the list of artists who are at the...
Recommended: Artforum Publishes Isaac Julien, Melvin Edwards and Simone Leigh in Their Own Words
RECOMMENDED FEATURES recently published content from around the web, recommendations from Culture Type worth taking the time to explore: Over the past month, Artforum’s 500 Words feature has captured the as told to remarks of Simone Leigh, Melvin Edwards and Isaac Julien. The artists explain their work and share the sources and motivations behind their...
Toyin Odutola Discusses New York, Artistic Influences and the Wonders of Ballpoint
EARLIER THIS MONTH, Toyin Odutola spoke to BOMB magazine about race, representation and inspiration. The Nigerian-born artist’s work is instantly recognizable. Executed in charcoal, ink and often ballpoint pen, her self portraits and images of her brothers and others are usually set against dark backgrounds, the subject’s skin depicted in black hues defined by...
