Muskegon is getting a new art insulation in 2024 called ‘The Portal’ but some think it looks like something else.
Muskegon Is Getting A Giant Butthole Sculpture In 2024
“Quiet legends”: Fergus Coyle gives us an insight into the long-distance cycling subculture, Audax
One recent subsection of Fergus’ ongoing project is Moonrakers and Sunseekers, named after an overnight 300 km Audax that takes place each year. Riders leave Bristol at 10pm, make their way south to Bournemouth, then Poole Harbour where they stop off at Lilliput Sea Scouts control for basic food, rest and to have their brevet card stamped.
It was at this rest point that Fergus stationed himself between the hours of 2-7am, photographing riders who came through. “It’s a strange time to be awake and I was interested to see how that might affect the interaction between photographer and sitter,” Fergus says. “When riding at night, you’re acutely focussed on a small pool of light emitted in front of the bike, reading the road and watching out for dangers such as potholes.” It’s this intensity that Fergus sees translating into the images – palpable in the riders’ eyes as their portraits are taken, staring into the camera, or in some cases beyond, and the atmosphere of the sparse blue-and-white harbour setting. “There’s a monastic silence, broken only by the sound of cutlery against plates and cycling shoes tapping in and out of the door.”
During the shoot Fergus encountered a few “celebrities” within the Audax community who were “hailed for quietly and consistently putting in the miles”. Like Dai – one of the few cyclists with a large smile on his face in his portrait. Known for his heavily laden fixed gear and broad Welsh accent, one significant detail of his portrait (and something Fergus sees as setting him apart from road cyclists) is the fact he’s wearing two Paris Brest jerseys from separate years on top of each other. Fergus also has a soft spot for Zlatamira’s portrait. It was the last photo in a roll of film and she blinked, but the resulting image is one that resonates, as “a serene, meditative moment before she continued on into the early hours”.
Our Favorite Art Books of 2023
We’ve started to think about finding the perfect gifts for our loved ones and bet you have, too, which is why we’re sharing the first part of our Colossal Year in Review series a little bit early. Below, you’ll find our staff’s favorite art books published this year, from artist monographs, surveys, and historical reflections to prove that art really does make the world a better place.
The titles below are on our shortlist, so head to Bookshop to check out what else made the cut.
Book of Earth: A Guide to Ochre, Pigment, and Raw Color
Heidi Gustafson of the Early Futures Ochre Archive takes us on a journey through rare pigments and their landscapes in a celebration of the unique qualities of earthen materials. Each chapter is dedicated to an aspect of her massive collection, which contains more than 600 samples. Captivating and insightful, the volume elucidates the world of natural color, challenging our perceptions of terrain and the inanimate world, and includes practical advice and techniques for creating your own pigments.
The first monograph of the pioneering artist’s work, Simone Leigh encompasses two decades of Leigh’s sculptures, videos, and installations, all of which center on Black women and the aesthetics of Africa and the African diaspora. The book also coincides with the artists’s first major museum survey, which is currently on tour across the U.S., and contains writings by some of today’s most brilliant thinkers.
Works by more than 60 artists comprise this monumental survey, which renders solid a new paradigm of representation and visibility of Native North American art. The nearly 450-page book is filled with bold full-color images that explore myriad practices focused on contemporary art, music, filmmaking, choreography, architecture, writing, photography, design, and more.
Groundswell: Women of Land Art
This groundbreaking volume is corrective and celebratory as it highlights the women artists who changed the genre. Spanning 256 pages, Groundswell encompasses works by renowned artists like Ana Mendieta, Nancy Holt, and Agnes Dean, who used untraditional and organic materials in their practices and gravitated toward the earth itself as a site for their works.
French artist Julien Malland, a.k.a. Seth Globepainter, takes us on a journey through a decade of his resilient and youthful subjects, many of which are enveloped by color and playful optical illusions. The monograph features many of the artist’s most impactful murals and emphasizes how imagination could be the key to solving many of the world’s ills.
Luna Luna: The Art Amusement Park
Opened in 1987, Luna Luna was the first-ever art amusement park, and it was brimming with rides and kiosks designed by some of the most recognizable names in 20th-century art history like David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, and Salvador Dalí. This re-issue contains information about and photos of the public spectacle, along with cover drawings commissioned by the artists.
Birds of the World: The Art of Elizabeth Gould
Elizabeth Gould is known for her vibrant illustrations of birds that paired with her husband’s ornithological studies and was overlooked for her contributions during her lifetime. A corrective book that recognizes Gould for her immense talent, Birds of the World is a celebration of the artist’s legacy and contains 220 vivid renderings depicting myriad species, from a speckled vulturine guineafowl and chromatic crimson rosella to a slender-beaked glossy ibis.
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
We intuitively know that art affects us, but how exactly? Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross dive into the connection between art and health in this illuminating book that details a range of positive outcomes, from museum visits aiding people suffering from dementia to playing music to build cognitive skills. It’s an essential read for anyone interested in the real-world impact of art.
Shop all of the Best Art Books of 2023 on Bookshop.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Our Favorite Art Books of 2023 appeared first on Colossal.
UBS brings back ART SG for a second edition, spearheading Singapore and Southeast Asia’s art calendar
Why Pattie Gonia, Yo-Yo Ma, and Quinn Christopherson Won’t Give Up
Why Pattie Gonia, Yo-Yo Ma, and Quinn Christopherson Won’t Give Up | Atmos
A still from Won’t Give Up. Courtesy of Pattie Gonia, Yo-Yo Ma, and Quinn Christopherson.
The drag queen, musician, and cellist have teamed up on a powerful climate anthem that speaks to our interconnection with nature. The trio speak with Atmos about the role of art in activism.
Drag queen Pattie Gonia, musician Quinn Christopherson, and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma might seem like unlikely collaborators, but together they have created a beautiful and powerful anthem for climate. Won’t Give Up is a moving and uplifting song that speaks to our interconnection with nature, staying hopeful and working together for a better world. “When I met Pattie and Quinn, it was clear we shared a purpose, a way of thinking about our roles as artists and as human beings,” Yo-Yo Ma told Atmos. “For me, music, culture, is a service — it’s about responding to need with the best of whatever we have to offer, and it’s always exciting to work with younger people; we have to think beyond our own generation.”
Pattie Gonia, known for her climate-themed take on drag, had the idea to write a requiem for our dying glaciers, a mournful musing on loss and grief. Then, she met with Christopherson, an Indigenous trans musician, who convinced Gonia to turn this into a song of hope. Won’t Give Up also features haunting and beautiful sounds from Yo-Yo Ma, the exquisite cello player who’s currently touring the world with his own cultural climate project Our Common Nature.
“Glaciers make sounds — incredible sounds,” said Yo-Yo Ma. “If you listen even for a few moments, you can hear them creak and groan; it’s a reminder that they are living beings, constantly moving and evolving, and now, dying. I wanted to capture their voice, and the great depth of it, something ancient and present, urgent.”
In the stunning music video, the three artists perform in front of the Holgate and Exit Glaciers in Christopherson’s native Alaska, donning sustainable, handmade outfits by Lisa Jiang, including a traditional qaspeq that was made by Chrisopherson’s great-aunt. Here, Gonia and Christopherson speak to Atmos about the project, what it was like working together, their hopes for the future, and the role of art in activism.
Atmos
This song could perhaps better be described as a project with multiple components and moving parts. How did it come about?
Pattie
I had had the idea to do a requiem for a glacier—something that could be performed at a funeral for a glacier. That idea was really indicative of my theory around activism a few years ago, this naming of things for what they are, and these glaciers are dying. I’ve had a really big change of heart and approach over the last few years in terms of seeing how, yes, the realities of climate change are so real, but so are the people, the solutions, the possibility, and the potential for change. If we want to build a movement, we have to create a culture where people can act in sustainable ways and be moved to action by long-term motivators that allow room for imperfection and progress rather than these short-term fear-based motivators. And then Quinn came on the project and said, what if we turned it into a really different thing?
Quinn
We had talked about this idea of doing a requiem for weeks, and I thought it was a really impactful, amazing idea. But then when Pattie and I got into the room together, we started talking about how we feel about nature and climate change, and it was like this wave washed over me and I thought, Hold on, we’re already giving up before the song has even started. In my experience of writing about my own life, yes there are dark times, but the way I can frame them now when I tell those stories can be with new empathy or new wisdom. To me, it feels like a strength to flip things over in a way that can be shared with more and more people, and it’s just as impactful. In my culture as an Alaskan Native, we feel like we and nature are not two different things—we’re the same, and so we’re going to treat nature how we treat ourselves. When I talked that through with Pattie it instantly clicked.
“When I met Pattie and Quinn, it was clear we shared a purpose, a way of thinking about our roles as artists and as human beings.”
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
Atmos
This idea of connection to nature really comes through in the song and the music video. Can you talk about how you brought that out?
Pattie
The outfits were designed by Lisa Jiang, an amazing, sustainable designer who took a zero-waste approach to all of these outfits, from my dress to Quinn’s two-piece to Yo-Yo Ma’s scarf. She hand-dyed all this fabric to symbolize air pollution, making the looks symbolic of the thing that is killing these glaciers. We tried to do everything with purpose in this project. For example, Quinn’s great-aunt made his qaspeq, the traditional jacket he wears in the video, and there are many other personal ties to this project as well. My dad’s from Alaska and after he died seven years ago I took his ashes to Holgate glacier where we filmed the video to scatter them. It felt very surreal to be back in the same place where his ashes are and it reminds me again of our connection to nature and how lucky we are to get a chance to fight for this thing while we’re alive.
Quinn
My great-grandfather was a really well-known violin maker who went by Frank Hobson the Eskimo Violin Maker. His instruments—violins, violas, cellos—were and still are some of the best instruments ever made. He made them by cutting down the trees, carving them by hand, and then playing them to feel if the wood was alive or if it was dead. If he felt it was dead, he would throw it away and start again. So, I have always felt a strong love for strings, of course, and when we just started talking about this song and bringing in Yo-Yo Ma, doing this in my home state, it all just felt really right the whole way through.
Atmos
It sounds like there was a lot of different inspiration for this project. What else has inspired you from the world of art and activism?
Pattie
I think that so much more art is activism than we think. Take music, it’s played such an important role in every single social justice movement on this planet, from the American Civil Rights movement with the song “We Shall Overcome,” to anti-war anthems, and I don’t know why it’s not playing more of a role with climate. From my very queer lens, I think that drag is nothing but political and is nothing but activism. All the way back to the queer rights movement, especially in the U.S., drag queens led the charge and I think they still do. I don’t often look at myself as a part of that, but I think so much about the collective power of drag and the effect it can have when it comes to community organizers, people that are living loudly and proudly.
But I also think that art as activism can be fun and collaborative and it brings people together. Often when we think of artists we think of solo work, but I think it is so impactful when art can really be community-based. I’m excited to have the starting line of this song, I’m excited to sing it with people and perform it with people. When we were in Alaska, we got to perform the song to a group of local youth artists, so that was about 50 people, and it was so special. I just can’t wait until even more people are singing it.
Atmos
It would be great to hear more about the community work you did in Alaska as well as filming the music video. What was that like and what was the impact?
Pattie
Yeah, so we did this giant artist share event with local Indigenous youth artists and organizers, including a drag show with local Alaska drag performers who are amazing. Through that we raised $66,000 for different Indigenous and women-led organizations in Alaska, which is great.
Quinn
And for the artist share itself, we made what Yo-Yo Ma would call “offerings.” which is when we just sit down and start playing something for people. We all gathered and people shared different things, so the group of youth had written a song, there was some poetry, and then we shared our song, followed by a big dancing group at the end, and then food. It was really native, really Alaskan, this idea of gathering, performing and eating together—that’s what my culture is steeped in. It was really special—and also silent! Any time a performance was happening, people were sat on the floor in pindrop silence. It was just beautiful.
Atmos
It’s definitely true that drag is political, as is preserving Indigenous culture and practices, that’s really special. The way that all comes together in this project is powerful. What was it like to create this song with such diversity in the room?
Pattie
Well exactly, what’s really powerful about songwriting is that who’s in the room matters. Case in point with Won’t Give Up—you get a completely different song when you put in different ingredients. I think that’s really indicative of our activism as well. If we always have people that look like us, or come from the same places as us, our activism isn’t going to be effective. But if we can change who’s in the room and imagine new ways to be, then I think it can look really different, which is how it should be. It should reflect people, all people.
Atmos
Turning the song into an anthem of hope, you allude to the idea that there are solutions out there, maybe different ones from what’s being discussed in the mainstream narrative. What do you mean when you talk about solutions?
Pattie
My theory of change when it comes to climate is, try to have an effect on what you can control. People fight for what they love, right? So if I can get people outdoors, especially queer youth that are oftentimes the most disconnected people from climate, and if they can fall in love with nature, then they’ll fight for it. One of the most harmful things in this world is how much capitalism has disconnected us from nature and from each other. There are so many climate activists that I really look up to who are bringing people together constantly. I look at what Quinn is doing to make music and community, especially for queer people. That takes so much work and is often so unseen.
“My theory of change when it comes to climate is, try to have an effect on what you can control. People fight for what they love, right?”
Pattie Gonia
Drag Queen
Quinn
Yes I totally agree. It’s about looking at wherever we’re at in the world and finding how the climate crisis is affecting us there. The solutions then come from within, they come from your community, and I think that’s where a lot of the change can happen. In Alaska right now, for example, they’re trying to build a huge road through a lot of Indigenous communities, it’s called the Ambler road, and it will interrupt migration patterns for the caribou which will change the entire ecosystem. I went on a tour with the band Portugal. The Man to spread awareness about the destruction through five remote villages, some of them not even on the road system. We got to speak to the chiefs, the elders, the youth of the villages, and they were all exactly on the same page. They know what’s best for their community and it really felt like we could win against the big corporations because we all know what’s right. I’m pretty sure if we all just take a second to see what’s happening right in front of us, the solutions will come closer.
Pattie
I really appreciate what Quinn said because it’s rare to find such powerful community spaces where people can come together. Shout out to what Yo-Yo Ma is doing as well. With his project, Our Common Nature, in every city he tours in, he stays an extra day or two and runs a completely private artist share with different musicians, poets, artists—anyone from any discipline can come and I just think that’s really beautiful.
Atmos
What do you hope people will take away after listening to this song?
Quinn
I want people to share it, to sing it, and scream it and feel it! A song is meant to be played many times over and leave you still not knowing exactly what it’s about or saying. This song is about us, it’s about nature, it’s about loving each other and nature. There are so many ways to feel it and for everybody to explore that.
Pattie
The beautiful thing about art is that when you put it out there, it’s no longer ours; it’s everyone’s, and we want everyone to feel like it’s theirs. I also want people to think about how social justice and environmental justice are inextricably linked. I want people to know that humans are not apart from nature, and I want people to take who you are, take what you’re good at, and apply it to what you care about in this world. If we do that, the world will never look the same.
Won’t Give Up was released on 13th November at 9pm PST.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been condensed and edited for purposes of length and clarity.
Images courtesy of Pattie Gonia, Yo-Yo Ma, and Quinn Christopherson
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Matt Rugg, Hatton Gallery review — abstract sculpture finds the beauty in shrapnel
The show in Newcastle brings to life the artist’s thoughtful use of rough materials
Printmakers’ work on display at Field Hall Gallery
PORT ANGELES — Field Hall Gallery has unveiled a new exhibition, “Impressions,” which celebrates the beauty and diversity of human experience through the artistry of printmaking.
On tour with Burna Boy to Wizkid: How Afrobeats conquered the world
CNN
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Oliver Akinfeleye remembers Burna Boy’s first show in New York. The location was Palladium Times Square, the year was 2017.
Akinfeleye, an American Nigerian photographer known professionally as DrDrummerD, or Drummer, was close to the stage, ready to capture every moment of the Afrobeats star’s intimate show in front of around 2,000 fans. He had been booked by a local promoter and left with a clutch of images of one of Nigeria’s biggest recording artists. The next day he posted some on social media, which reappeared on Burna Boy’s accounts. The musician, or likely someone from his team, had screengrabbed Drummer’s work – not that he cared. The following week the two crossed paths again and the photographer let Burna Boy know the photos were his. “Oh, you’re bad,” the musician shot back, Akinfeleye remembers (“In Nigerian it means you’re super-dope,” he explained). “We laughed it off, shook hands, and from that point he trusted my vision,” he added. The two have been sharing stages ever since.
Born in Queens, New York, to Nigerian parents, Akinfeleye has had a closer than front row seat to Afrobeats’ ascendance in the US and other parts of the world, documenting gigs and behind-the-scenes moments as the genre has come to the fore internationally.
By 2022, Burna Boy was headlining Madison Square Garden (capacity: 20,000) and last July he became the first Nigerian to sell out a stadium show in the US when he performed at Citi Field, New York (capacity: 41,000). He went one step further on the other side of the Atlantic, selling out the 60,0000-capacity London Stadium this summer. He’s far from alone. This year his countryman Wizkid was a headliner at the UK’s biggest musical festival, Glastonbury, and sold out London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (capacity 45,000), following three sold-out shows at the O2 Arena in London in 2021.
If further evidence was needed that the genre has a seat at the table of popular music, the MTV Video Music Awards now has an Afrobeats category, and in 2024 the Grammy Awards will introduce a new category, Best African Music Performance, which is expected to feature Afrobeats artists. Burna Boy is already a Grammy winner, while in September, “Calm Down” by Nigerian rising star Rema and Selena Gomez became the first song led by an African artist to hit one billion streams on Spotify.
Yet a few years ago, not many US photographers were dedicating their time to documenting Afrobeats musicians, said Akinfeleye, and even fewer wanting to take an intimate view of their lives. “I think that’s what a lot of the artists found most interesting about my work and what I do,” he added. “It was something different. There was something fresh; it was something that they hadn’t seen before.”
The photographer said his parents instilled in him “a focus to really highlight our own.” Whether fashion editorials, album covers or concerts, Akinfeleye’s lens has put Black – and particularly African – faces front and center in his portfolio.
Starting with some early gigs with Mr Eazi, Runtown and Brandon Boyd, his first big Afrobeats concert was an evening with Wizkid in Washington DC on July 4th weekend, 2017. The two had been introduced by Wiz’s DJ, DJ Tunez, and after that first show he went backstage to show Wizkid his work. “From there it’s just been history,” Akinfeleye said.
Of all the artists Akinfeleye has worked with, he says his bond with Wizkid is the tightest. He has documented the Nigerian musician at festivals and arena tours, traveling throughout the US and Europe.
Wizkid brought Akinfeleye to London to shoot his breakout series at the O2 Arena in 2021, when an all-star line-up took to the stage in support of the headliner. “I will never forget it,” Akinfeleye said, “I remember each moment like it was yesterday.”
The body of work from those nights is one with great contrast. The sea of mobile phone spotlights that greet Wizkid like bioluminescent creatures is a world away from the intimate shots off-stage of Wiz and his tight inner circle. The photographer has the rapport and the eye to capture both sides of the man, who will largely be the focus of Akinfeleye’s upcoming photobook “Eagle Eye” (release date to be announced).
“Wiz is a very private person, you know,” he said, “(there’s) not a lot of people around him.” What they have goes beyond photographer and subject, he added. “It is definitely a relationship in itself. And that bond translates into my work because it makes it easier. He’ll feel comfortable when I bring out a camera. He won’t feel under pressure, he’ll feel like it’s a regular thing.”
Getting to that point takes time, Akinfeleye said. One thing he’s had in his favor is his shared heritage with many of the artists he’s documented. “It has been amazing just sharing personal spaces with these artists, getting to know them, sharing laughs, just talking more about the culture, talking more about our visions, our country,” he said.
“Nigerian music – African music – is there to make people feel good no matter what,” he added. “That energy is so normal to us: having joy from nothing. That’s a joy I want the world to see … I want my imagery to convey that feeling.”
That same infectious good time is why he believes the genre is music for our times. “The world needs love. The world needs to feel good,” Akinfeleye argues, and that need isn’t disappearing any time soon.
“Seeing where Afrobeats has come to now, it’s been an amazing journey,” he reflected, and “it’s only going to get bigger.”
“Afrobeats to the world is all I can say.”
Captured Moments closing studio, turning focus to on-location photography
Captured Moments Photography has played an immeasurable role in many families’s lives in the Owensboro community for nearly 2 decades. Owners Jason and Kate Higdon said their business model is now evolving, as they have decided to close their studio at 801 Old Hartford Road and instead conduct sessions on location.
The last studio session will be on December 20, and it will close completely on December 31. Kate Higdon encouraged clients to call 270-685-5164 or email [email protected] to book a studio session as soon as possible.
The company will continue photographing on location for sports, dance, and cheer teams as well as offering family, senior, professional, and branding sessions.
“We are so excited for this new pivot in our business,” Higdon said. “We are making this move to allow more freedom to our life as new empty nesters ready to travel and explore other opportunities in addition to our photography business.”
The Higdons initially launched the studio as a way to enjoy more of the children’s lives, often bringing the youngsters to work with them. Higdon said closing the location is certainly bittersweet because it’s where their children grew up, and they’ve formed many memories there.
With the closure, the Higdons are selling most of their studio contents — including furniture, frames, backgrounds, props, and more. They will keep their camera equipment, lighting, and some “signature” Captured Moments props and sets.
“We have a passion for photography that will never disappear, and we love our little Kentucky home,” Higdon said. “We’ve been so blessed and immensely grateful to a community who chose us to capture such special times in their lives.”
In 13 years at the location, Captured Moments has conducted more than 7,000 sessions in the studio. That doesn’t consider the several hundred more they’ve done on location at various businesses, balls, and nonprofits.
Higdon said she and her husband are excited about the next chapter in their lives. She added they’re incredibly grateful to their many clients, which they hope to continue serving in the future.
“We aren’t leaving – we are just cutting back to enjoy some life freedom and have the time to pursue our other passions,” she said. “Our clients have been the greatest gifts to us, and we have enjoyed every minute with you and look forward to more in the future.”
Visit their Facebook page here to stay updated on Captured Moments’ evolution.
Appearance Commission seeks proposals for Hawkins Walk sculpture
The City of Sanford Appearance Commission public art sub-committee is currently accepting proposals for a commissioned sculpture and mural for Hawkins Walk.
