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The week in pictures: Scotland
East Side native embeds social issues into his art
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James Shawn Crum, a graduate of East High School and native of Youngstown, has shown his artwork at Kent State University at Trumbull, Trumbull Art Gallery in Warren and the McDonough Art Museum in Youngstown.
YOUNGSTOWN — James Shawn Crum recalls playing “the artist” whenever he and his sister played house during their childhood.
Little did he know back then that he would find himself at the legendary Cedars Lounge in Youngstown hanging out with painters, photographers sculptors, musicians, poets and many others who live the artist lifestyle. It was the creative atmosphere of Cedars circa the 1990s that groomed Crum, 53, into the expressive artist that he is today.
“I moved out to California where I did sculpture, and then I dated a local artist named Robert Walker and he gave me paint supplies. That moment was what inspired me to paint,” Crum said. “From that point, I traveled to city to city with my paints, canvases and clothes. I lived in Columbus, New Orleans, San Diego and Brooklyn, New York. I considered that the artist lifestyle, and I showed my art in art exhibitions in all those cities. I think the art community here in Youngstown is friendlier, more inviting and inspirational.”
He grew up on Youngstown’s East Side and graduated from East High School. His parents are James and Mary Crum.
His family left Mississippi to work in the steel mills in Youngstown. Crum’s mother came to Youngstown when she was a teenager and his father arrived in Youngstown on his own. Both of his parents ended up working in the steel mills.
“I was one of those kids who remembers when the steel mills in Youngstown closed and how life changed drastically for a lot of local residents back then,” he said. “I was living on the East Side, and it was a great place to live back then, but then it became poor, and there was a lot of violence, especially during the 1990s.”
When it comes to artistic influences and inspirations, Crum has a long list. However, some of his greatest inspirations include Jacob Lawrence, Jean -Michel Basquiat, Romare Beardon and the Ukrainian-born sculptor, Louise Nevelson.
“I look at Louise Nevelson’s work, and it’s breathtaking. It’s like something spiritual is screaming for my attention whenever I look at her work,” he said. “I was drawn to Jacob Lawrence because his style is very raw, and he tells a story in his artwork. When I look at his work, I understand what his life has been like at the time.”
On Sept. 9, Crum’s exhibit, “Black Noise White Gaze, Paintings by James Shawn Crum,” opened at the Coy Cornelius & Judy Rogers Studios in Youngstown. This exhibit was a showcase of Crum’s collection of acrylic on canvas paintings that are centered around the current socio-political climate. The exhibition addressed the issues of social inequality, African-American cultural and activist history, class, sexuality and race. The exhibition closed Sept. 28.
“My partner, John Noga, who is also a local artist, helped curate the show,” he said. “The theme of the exhibition is inspired by the idea that I have been thinking about our society today and about myself being homosexual and black. With this show, I was able to quietly articulate what it is like to be black and homosexual during this time period and the struggles we face. I felt like I needed to tell my story because everyone feels so powerless right now.”
Crum is a self-taught artist and over the years, has experimented with collage and painting. Crum’s main concentration now is acrylic on canvas.
“I would like to do more collage, and I like mixing collage and painting together. I would also like to get more into print-making and incorporate that with my painting with collage,” Crum said. “I did a lot of sculpture when I was in my early 20s while living in California.”
Crum has shown his art at Kent State University at Trumbull, Trumbull Art Gallery in Warren and the McDonough Art Museum in Youngstown. He also has shown his work at various coffee shops and small art spaces in Columbus and in numerous shows in New York City.
“I think with art, it’s important for people to be comfortable enough to share their stories. I felt that when I was younger, there weren’t enough people sharing their art,” he said. “Art back then was seen more as a hobby. I want young people today to see that art is something to take seriously as a career and to make it a part of their lives. I want to encourage young people that art can be a serious vocation.”
To suggest a Saturday profile, contact Features Editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or Metro Editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com.
Road to Carrizozo with the sun going down and the clouds enraptured!
The 1st of The Mighty Five art shows captures Zion in ways smartphone cameras can’t
Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, well before smartphones and selfies, artists played a crucial role in introducing Americans to the otherworldly red rock landscape of Zion Canyon.
In a time when visiting in person was a challenge, those early impressions of Zion’s grandeur helped both to popularize it and gain its protection as a national park, said Sears Art Museum director and curator James Peck.
“Once painters got out to Zion and people started to see the colors and the contrast and the amazing slot canyons and all that, it’s hard to overestimate how important that is for what we have today.”
Zion National Park doesn’t need much help with publicity anymore, but a new exhibit at the museum on the campus of Utah Tech University is celebrating the connections between art and this remarkable landscape. Even in the age of iPhones and Instagram, Peck said, nothing can replace an artist’s ability to capture the depth of emotion Zion’s scenery inspires.
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When someone puts paint to canvas, he said, they aren’t bound to the same conventions that a phone is. Artists have the license to inject emotion and meaning, he said, by choosing to focus on one element, shifting the color palette or presenting a view from an angle that humans can’t physically access.
“Artists in many ways are able to do things with our memories that we can’t do,” Peck said. “So they become the guardians in the vanguard of protecting our memories and changing and challenging our perceptions of it.”
The free exhibit is the first in a series called The Mighty Five that will eventually showcase work from each of Utah’s destination national parks.
In all, the Zion exhibit features around 100 pieces of art. Each one is a bit different — there’s even a series of three divergent paintings of the same scene by the same artist — showing how every visit to the ever-changing landscape can show us something new based on the season, how the rock has eroded or how the light creeps into the canyon.
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Between walls lined with pastel, oil and watercolor paintings, a set of glass cases holds intricately designed Indigenous pottery found in the Virgin River that carved Zion Canyon. It’s an acknowledgment of the rich history of art among Utah’s native peoples, who were often excluded from pioneer-era depictions of this region.
The exhibit also highlights how Zion’s natural beauty has fueled southwest Utah’s art scene, with dozens of pieces from modern local artists like Mary Jabens of Cedar City.
She visits Zion and other public lands in southwest Utah at least once a week through the fall and winter to paint, often as part of a group of local artists who call themselves The Kolob Society after Zion’s Kolob Canyons area.
Trying to do this intricately hued landscape justice is a challenge, she said. But for her, it never gets old.
“When the light hits the different colors of those red rocks with the hidden pinks and purples and oranges and iridescent blues,” she said, “you can’t help but sit back and just stare at it going, ‘Oh, my. It’s beautiful.’”
Two of Jabens’ paintings found a place in this exhibit, a large vertical piece with a pair of condors soaring over Angels Landing and a wide horizontal piece that focuses on light hitting a bend in the Virgin River.
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The second piece came from a stroll she took in one of her favorite parts of the park, the Riverside Walk trail that leads to The Narrows. She turned to look downstream, the sun hit the canyon’s green springtime leaves just right, and she was struck by the beauty like she was seeing it for the first time.
That’s a feeling she hopes people who visit the exhibit walk away with.
“It just inspires me. It fills my heart,” Jabens said. “It’s like a promise that things are still good.”
The exhibit opened Dec. 1, 2023, and runs through Jan. 12, 2024, at the Sears Art Museum at Utah Tech University in St. George.
Director Bao Dong on What Makes the Beijing Contemporary Uniquely Situated to Be the Next Top Art Fair
Next May, the esteemed art fair Beijing Dangdai, also known as Beijing Contemporary, will return for its 6th edition in Hall 11 of the city’s National Agricultural Exhibition Center. Reflecting the core mission and ethos of the fair, the 2024 edition of Beijing Dangdai 2024 will host a dynamic and diverse range of international galleries and see the fair collaborate with art and cultural institutions both from across the Chinese city and from around the world.
Founded in 2018 and helmed by Art Director Bao Dong, in six short years Beijing Dangdai has emerged as a leading international art fair and an important event on art world calendars. We reached out to Bao Dong to learn more about what inspired him to establish the fair, and what sets it apart within the contemporary “art ecosystem.”
Courtesy of Beijing Contemporary.
Why did you choose Beijing to launch this art fair?
Beijing served as the capital city for five dynasties in China, since some 850 years ago, laying the foundation for people of different regions, ethnic groups, and cultural backgrounds to gather and interact. It has a unique climate that boasts the most energetic and widest spectrum of art ecosystems in China, and is home to the largest number of artists, galleries, art institutes, and is a hub for both corporate and private collectors.
It also boasts a profound and historic heritage that is constantly intertwining with the dynamic vigor of contemporary art and artists. Established over two decades ago, the 798 Art Zone is now a landmark in the city with the highest density of art galleries, museums, and artist studios with international art and culture institutions like Galleria Continua, Galerie Urs Meile, Whitestone Gallery, and Goethe Institute. International galleries such as Lisson Gallery and Massimodecarlo flocked to the bonded-area in close proximity to the airport. Also, the prestigious art institution UCCA is headquartered in Beijing, along with most numbered museums opened by private individuals, financial institutions, and Chinese auction houses such as Poly Auction and China Guardian Auctions.
The juxtapositions inherent in the city are evidenced in intriguing exhibitions like “Mirroring the Heart of Heaven and Earth: Ideas and Images in the Chinese Study” on view at the Palace Museum, showcasing contemporary and multimedia artworks with classical calligraphies, paintings, and antique collections. The launch of Beijing Dangdai Art Fair in 2018 was a direct response to the growing need for and interest in a Beijing-specific perspective on contemporary art.
Courtesy of Beijing Contemporary.
What makes Beijing Dangdai art fair stand out from other art fairs in China and abroad?
Whilst the art market may be seen as “flattened” and homogenized, Beijing Dangdai presents its “unevenness” in its participating galleries and exhibition design, bringing together the blood and vessels that are scattered around the art landscapes of the capital city and beyond.
Among the 84 Chinese galleries that participated in our 2023 edition, 75 percent of participants have spaces in Beijing, showing the pivotal status of the city within China. Among the 87 participating galleries that have spaces in China, 10 have gallery spaces in emerging cities such as Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Urumqi.
Booth layout is planned counter to the hierarchical arrangement often adopted, as galleries of different backgrounds and seniority are scattered around the fair space to share the main area.
Our “Value” sector features a curation of galleries and the diverse values they embody. Established galleries from different regions and backgrounds will present world-class artworks in this sector. “Future” seeks to discover and foresee future art trends through presenting forward-thinking artworks. Galleries will bring experimental and curated art pieces and projects that explore new presentation methods and artistic concepts.
“Story” is a curatorial sector of the fair, meant to be realized via museum-level exhibitions at various exhibiting spaces in Beijing, probing into the contemporary art scene with in-depth perspective and rigorous academic scope,.
Courtesy of Beijing Contemporary.
Compared to art collectors in other cities, what’s different about Beijing-based collectors?
Beijing has the most collectors per capita in the country, consisting of both experienced and younger individuals with highly personalized paths to their collections. Each collection is formulated by high consumer power, century-long antiques collection history, and in-depth appreciation for content rather than format.
The threads and stories of their collections are closely related to their life experience, knowledge structures, and aesthetic preferences, highlighting their personal tastes and visions.
Some collectors look to history as a reference, and aspire to build a micro art history of their own. Some take delight in the surprises and contrasts of collecting both ancient and contemporary art; some see art collection as their life cause and devote time, energy, and resources to enjoy the most of it.
As such, it is then not uncommon to see collectors in flip-flops at Beijing Dangdai, who come to the fair with their families on public days. They come for the sake of art and want to celebrate it with jubilation rather than see it as a means to socialize or flaunt themselves.
Courtesy of Beijing Contemporary.
What are the most impressive trends in the art ecology that have emerged over the recent editions of the fair?
More and more galleries active in China have begun to represent artists from around the globe. Promising international artists appear in the artist lists from native Chinese art galleries like Antenna Space, Star Gallery, White Space, and Simulacra.
Likewise, Chinese galleries have also begun to open new spaces outside the country. For instance, with spaces in both Beijing and Berlin, gallerist Hua Xiaochan from Hua International said to have faith in the potential of Chinese artists and the universal value of art that transcends borders and cultures. She works closely with emerging artists both in China and Europe to build strong and long-term relationships with active and emerging art collectors.
Beijing Dangdai will continue to gather a diverse line-up of galleries and collaborate with art and cultural institutions across Beijing and beyond to present the audience with a vibrant and dynamic spectrum of the art ecosystem. We cordially invite you to “Tune into the artworld of Beijing.”
Beijing Contemporary VIP Preview will take place May 23–24, with public days May 25–26, in Hall 11 of the National Agricultural Exhibition Center.
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Artist opens gallery in downtown Sarnia
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Taryn Henry says she’s always wanted a gallery.
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The painter who grew up in Point Edward, inspired by the beach and water at Canatara Park, recently got her wish.
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“It feels amazing,” said Henry above the Downtown Market recently, at 140 Christina St. N.
She’s rented the mezzanine in the former Taylor’s Furniture building, and has her artwork displayed on the walls, a studio tucked into one corner, and other works on the wall by featured artists she knows from her studies at Lambton College, and from participating in Art Battle, timed art competitions.
“Backing each other’s work” maintaining connections and generating exposure are some of the reasons for featuring other artists, she said, noting she’s also featured in a friend’s gallery in Paris, Ont.
Studio 140 in the downtown Sarnia mezzanine opened officially in November and Henry said she’s hoping to hold workshops in the future, and has a Digital Main Street grant to help her with marketing and to create a gallery website for purchases.
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In the meantime, people can come in and check out the work, she said, noting plans are to change what’s on the walls every three months or so.
Her own work is primarily oil on canvas and inspired by Lake Huron, she said.
“Just that big openness connects you,” she said. “That mind, body, spirit connection that I’m into.”
Henry, who said she has three children and a bachelor’s degree in fine art from the NSCAD University in Halifax, added being an artist always has been her goal.
“I think there’s a niche to make it work in small towns and bring art into the community, have it thrive,” she said.
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Lexi Brown, photographer on autism spectrum, embraces beauty of being neurodivergent
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — What makes Lexi Brown unique is the way she has chosen to use what others might see as limitations to set herself apart as an artist. Look closely at her pictures and you might even start to see the world in a different way — thanks to her unique vision.
Brown spends her time abroad in the world with her camera, shooting old-fashioned film as opposed to the digital photography most common today.
“I realize that film correlates so much more with what I see with my own eyes. It literally looks exactly how my brain sees it,” Brown said.
Her brain views the world differently than most people. Brown says she was officially diagnosed with autism on Valentine’s Day this year.
A challenge? Yes, but one that came with certain benefits.
“It gave me the permission slip to be different and unapologetic,” she said.
Like others on the autism spectrum, Brown is very sensitive to light – which is an advantage because she says “photography is literally painting with light.”
Brown has been taking photos since she was in the eighth grade, when she won a national prize for one photo taken on her mom’s iPhone. It was autism that convinced her to make a living as an artist.
“Being on the spectrum, my internal world is very, very rich, and there’s always so much happening in here with light and sound and motion, and like dissecting these little details of the world around me,” she said.
In the details, Brown finds the divine, and says the neurodivergent brain is so beautiful because it can see all these different parts.
When asked if her diagnosis has helped her become a better photographer, Brown says she wouldn’t call it ‘better,’ but rather different.
“I think being on the spectrum and spending a lot of time feeling misunderstood has given me a gift to help other people understand,” she said.
Her gift allows people to see the world through her eyes and that broadens our understanding of life.
Lexi Brown is a star of tomorrow.
ALSO READ | Harlem Stage celebrates 4 decades of lifting creative voices of artists of color
Sandy Kenyon has more on Harlem Stage as the arts center celebrates its 40th anniversary.
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Fernanda Chandoha talks about cat photography
Fernanda Chandoha will discuss the work and career of her father Walter Chandoha, the grand master of cat photography. “Growing up,” she says, “when you told somebody what your parents do, it was just like: what?” Chandoha also tells us about Loco the cat and a Bayonne grocery store.
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On Edge Before Miami Basel, the Art World Is Bracing for ‘the Question’
When the art world descends on Art Basel Miami Beach next week, an unexpected question may preempt the usual chatter at the fair about the artists’ practice and prices, museum acquisitions and future exhibitions.
“For the first time you are starting to hear: What’s your position on the Israel-Palestine situation?” said Ralph DeLuca, a collector and advisor. “People want to know where the artists stand on this issue.”
The war in the Middle East has become a lightning rod in the art world since the barbaric attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas and the human toll after Israel’s fierce retaliation in Gaza. It exposed ethnic and generational rifts and unleashed existential anxieties.
When prominent artists such as Nan Goldin and Barbara Kruger signed a letter in Artforum in support of Palestinians without mentioning Jewish suffering, Jewish art dealers protested, and Jewish collectors removed the artists’ works from their walls. When Artforum’s editor-in-chief was fired, several staffers resigned in dissent. When social media accounts of artists lit up with proclamations of “genocide in Gaza,” they were met with accusations of anti-Semitism.
“In my 15-plus years of collecting art I’ve never seen the art world so divided,” said DeLuca, who is not Jewish. “It’s disheartening. We usually band together as a family in support of an issue like this. There were no people arguing about support of Ukraine and BLM, rallying against the ultra-right, marching for women’s rights. Usually there was a common thread most people agreed on—until October 7.”
A “Kidnapped” poster next to an installation by Lawrence Weiner. Courtesy: Candace Worth.
How did we get here? How did the art world end up in a place where buyers are making decisions about aesthetic matters based on political points of view? There was a time when collectors bought art without ever meeting an artist, let alone inquiring about his or her beliefs.
The change has been a long time coming—a combination of the rise of identity politics, art as a lifestyle, rapid-fire acquisitions, and, of course, social media where artists, curators and collectors telegraph their beliefs for all to see.
The market for living artists has increased dramatically in part because it’s a community, one that the rich from around the world want to buy into. Collectors hang out with artists at art fairs, after-parties, and benefit galas. There’s a feeling of connection and belonging to an art world. The artworks on the walls have come to signal not just wealth and access, but also values. In recent years, the focus has been on inclusion and diversity, with particular emphasis on Black and female artists.
“Historically, Jews have bought very difficult work, dealing with race, gender, and religion,” DeLuca said. “There’s no contemporary art market without the Jewish support.”
But what happens when the artists and their patrons suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the barricade? What happens when you can’t break bread with those you used to consider your tribe?
Some Jewish patrons feel so betrayed, they are walking away from the artists they’ve long supported. Others are skipping Miami this year.
“How do we approach Art Basel? Who do we buy from? Do we ask ‘the question’?” a Jewish art advisor and collector said this week, asking not to use her name.
She was one of more than a dozen art market participants I interviewed, including dealers, consultants, and collectors, who all acknowledged the rift over the war as a new factor for the trade.
“It’s making me question my work,” the art advisor said. “I thought this was my world.”
A demonstrator holding a Palestinian flag during a recent Strike MoMA protest. Courtesy of Strike MoMA via Twitter.
George Lindemann, president of the Bass Museum board of trustees, said he’s going to start each conversation at the fair next week with a simple question: Is the artist a hater?
“Does the artist espouse hate or violence against anyone or any group?” Lindemann said. “If so, I don’t want anything to do with it.”
“The bottom line is,” said art advisor Candace Worth, “Jewish collectors do not want to look at art on their walls by artists who signed the offensive Artforum letter or who are using their social media platforms to voice anti-Israel and anti-Semitic viewpoints.”
The reason why anti-Israel views are offensive to many Jews (including those who disagree with its government) is because they see them as a proxy for anti-Semitism. Critics often don’t make a distinction between the State of Israel and the Jewish people, who often become targets of violence whenever emotions run high.
Private art dealer Mireille Mosler, the child of Holocaust survivors, moved to New York from Amsterdam in 1992, in part to not have to be always identified as a Jew.
But recently, an art world colleague made a comment about her “Jewfro” hair and introduced her husband as “a Jew from Frankfurt,” Mosler said. “There’s now a free-for-all where people single us out: That’s a Jew,” she said. “We are ‘the other’ again suddenly.”
The change has felt so profoundly disturbing, it’s propelling people into action. In early November, one of Worth’s clients put in storage several works by the artists who had signed the Artforum letter and replaced the empty spaces with large “Kidnapped” posters of the hostages taken by Hamas.
Another advisor is using the prism of the war to finalize the list of emerging artists showcased in a major corporate installation.
Advisors and collectors are eyeing works by artists who signed the Artforum letter for resale through galleries and auction houses.
“I don’t care if I leave money on the table,” said a New York-based collector of emerging art. “A lot of collectors are reevaluating their collections in the light of what’s happening. We’ll see a lot of work sold. Artists are very defensive about it. They go and trash Jews, in general, and Jewish collectors, in particular. It’s not fair. It’s my money.”
The collector draws the line at the artists’ “support for Hamas,” she said. She is planning to go over her inventory methodically early next year and select the works for sale.
Both positions should be respected, according to DeLuca. “Artists should have freedom to post and say whatever they want,” he said. “We are in America.” By the same token, he added, collectors should be free to not buy (and to sell) art if they disagree with the artist’s views.
Frühling im Gebirge/Kinderreigen by Hans Thoma, one of the official painters of the Third Reich. Courtesy: Dr. Oetker.
Not everyone is eager to edit their collections.
“I am not boycotting artists,” Mosler said. “I am not looking for friends when I buy art. I am interested in their art, not their political views.”
Mosler’s stance extends beyond today’s political divisions. Just this week, a client asked her to bid on a painting by early 20th century German artist Hans Thoma (1839-1924), one of the official painters of the Third Reich, whose artworks were acquired for Hitler’s personal collection.
“I am not telling my client he can’t buy that,” said Mosler. “It’s not my role to talk collectors out of the art they enjoy.”
Thoma was the subject of a 2013 retrospective at the Städel Museum in Germany, which was organized by Max Hollein. One of the themes it addressed was: “If the artist was on the wrong side of history, can we still appreciate the art?” Mosler said.
A similar question looms for many today. The impact of these sensitivities on the art market remains to be seen, but the timing isn’t great. The art market contracted this year. Will the selectivity by Jewish collectors further reduce the velocity of transactions at the biggest contemporary art fair in the U.S.? What about individual artist markets? Will the art community be able to come back together? Next week may provide some answers.
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