"Frame me, Make me Art"

Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power is an incredible exhibit that I got to check out last January at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It housed the work of amazing Black artists between the time period of 1963 to 1983 and it was a full house on the First Saturday that we visited.

While there was an overwhelming amount of beautiful art Lorraine O’Grady’s, “Art Is,” exhibit stopped me in my tracks.

“The exhibition [Soul of a Nation] finishes on an open and hopeful note with Lorraine O’Grady’s photo series Art is…, 1983. She joined the African American Day Parade in Harlem with a group of dancers dressed in white and carrying gilded empty picture frames. Members of O’Grady’s group photographed each other and people from the crowd framing each other, elevating each other out of the mundane, bringing art to the street and the community through the performance. The label quotes one attendee begging to be part of the project, “Frame me, make me art!” The playful engagement, the ecstatic smiles, the transformations from mere people into living artworks make a satisfying coda to this history of Black Power art.”  Beck Feibelman, The Clyde Fitch Report

I must have spent more than 30 minutes looking at these images.

It felt like it was her mission to remind her community of how worthy they are. I’m sure there are many other interpretations but for me worthiness was usually at the top of mind especially when it comes to my work.

O’Grady’s float held a large gold frame, that literally framed Harlem as it passed through. On that day, everyone and everything got to be art.

Instead of quietly selected pieces in a controlled environment. O’Grady’s float expanded that art outward. Making art accessible to every person it passed. Including them in a world they may have never thought to step into.

“Frame me, Make me Art.” and “That’s right, that’s what art is, WE’re the art,” was said to be heard throughout the crowd as everyone lit up, and posed with those golden frames.

The joy, love and acceptance is clearly shown in every image. O’Grady gave Harlem the permission to feel worthy enough of being seen, heard and captured. That mission is at the core of every portrait that I take. Which must be why I could not take my eyes off of it.

Art is not reserved for a select few and neither is beauty. We are all living, breathing pieces of art who deserve to be framed.

To view the entire exhibit (which you absolutely should) please head over to Lorraine O’Grady’s website.