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Celebrating Freedom: The Art of Willie Birch
Barbershop, 2003
acrylic and charcoal on paper
48 x 67 inches
Courtesy of Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans
Baptism, 2003
acrylic and charcoal on paper
84 x 60 inches
Courtesy of Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans
Martin Luther King Day Parade, 2003
acrylic and charcoal on paper
72 x 96 inches
Courtesy of Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans
Scottsdale, AZ (BlackNews.com) - Willie Birch, who was born
and raised in New Orleans, created this monumental series of
charcoal drawings, (some as much as twelve-feet long), to pay
tribute to his hometown culture. Birch returned to New Orleans in
1994, after living in New York for decades, and moved to within
walking distance of the French Quarter. In these vibrant character
studies, he reconnects with the everyday street scenes, musical
legacy, impromptu parades and vibrant rituals of New Orleans'
African-American community. A tour-de-force of draftsmanship, the
drawings document traditions and celebrations of African-American
life. Birch's subjects include Mardi Gras krewes and parades;
festivities for Martin Luther King Day; family gatherings; Sunday
church rituals; baptisms; and jazz funerals.
Mardi Gras and the colorful extravaganza of this pre-Lenten revelry
in New Orleans--unlike anything else in the United States--is a
recurrent theme for Birch. This exhibition coincides with Mardi
Gras, a rich backdrop for a host of related public programs,
festivities and special events at SMoCA.
Birch, (who traveled to Nairobi and Kenya on a John Simon Guggenheim
Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 1993), is fascinated by the
retention of African traditions in the dress, music, dance and
rituals that enliven and unite the African-American community.
Through his work, he highlights the many ways that the complex
history and artistic legacy of African-America has inspired American
culture at large, as for example through jazz, soul and hip-hop. He
looks equally at populist art forms and "high" art to celebrate the
true freedom of cultural expression, which has triumphed over a dark
past of slavery and of economic hardship.
Although Birch's earlier funky, folk-inspired sculptures are widely
known, these elegant charcoal drawings are newly on view in this
exhibition, the first major museum survey of Birch's work. Birch
attended Southern University in Baton Rouge and New Orleans,
Lousiana, from which he received his B.A. prior to his earning his
graduate degree at Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore.
Birch has been honored with the Mayor's Arts Award in New Orleans
and awarded public-art projects for the New York Metropolitan
Transit Authority and Philadelphia International Airport. He has
received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, New
York Foundation for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts,
among many others. In 2002, Birch was the artist in residence for
the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation.
This exhibition is accompanied by a book published by Hudson Hills
Press with essays by David S. Rubin (curator of the exhibition), Dr.
Leslie King-Hammond (dean of the Maryland Institute College of Art),
and Lolis Eric Eloie (journalist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune
and author of Smokestack Lightning: Adventures In The Heart Of
Barbecue Country, 2005, Ten Speed Press) as well as an interview
with the artist.
Celebrating Freedom: The Art of Willie Birch is organized by
the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans. The exhibition is
supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Louisiana
Division of the Arts, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities,
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts, and the Edward Wisner Fund.
Sponsored locally by SRP, Dr. Jamie and Peggy Kapner, Alice and
David Olsan, Mikki and Stanley Weithorn and the SMoCA Salon.
RELATED PROGRAMS FOR WILLIE BIRCH:
Mardi Gras on the Mall: Sunday, Feb. 18th
Family fun at the Museum and the Scottsdale Center for the
Performing Arts for children ages 4 and up with adult companions.
FEBRUARY 18, 2007
noon - 4:30 PM: free music on the Mall
1:30 PM: free exhibition tours and conversation with artist Willie
Birch at SMoCA
7:30 PM: Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the SCPA
$34 members; $40 non-members
Join SMoCA and the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in this
day-long celebration of New Orleans' culture, its African-American
roots and musical traditions at a special Sunday A'Fair in
collaboration with SMoCA's exhibition Celebrating Freedom: The Art
of Willie Birch. Join us for an interactive tour of the exhibition
at 1:30 pm, then at 2:15 pm, enjoy a conversation with artist Willie
Birch on a life of art and music and on the impact of Hurricane
Katrina on the cultural life of New Orleans. Sunday A'Fair on the
Scottsdale Civic Center Mall features Fly by Night performing hippie
southern rock from noon to 1:30 pm and The Desert Gumbo Band playing
a mix of rock, R&B, reggae and zydeco from 2 pm to 4:30 pm. This
free event also includes arts-and-crafts booths, hands-on activities
for children and families and refreshments available for purchase.
Cap the day off with a concert by the fabulous New Orleans classic
Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
at 7:30 pm. Call 480-994-ARTS [2787] for tickets.
MARCH 28, 2007
6:30 PM: "ARTiculations" (SMoCA's premier art lecture series)
The exuberant and celebrated scholar Dr. Robert Farris Thompson
(Colonel John Trumbull Professor of History of Art, Yale University,
New Haven, Connecticut) discusses "Triumph of the Cool:
African-American Art and Music Today." Dr. Thompson has been at the
forefront of the study of African-American and African Diasporic
art, and its influence on American culture. He is author of Flash of
the Spirit: African and African-American Art and Philosophy
(Vintage, 1983) and Tango: The Art History of Love (Vintage, 2006)
and co-authored Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America's
Creole Soul (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006). Followed by a
book signing. Stage 2 Theater. $5 members; $7 nonmembers. Call
480-994-ARTS [2787] for tickets.
ABOUT SMoCA
Founded in 1999, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art [SMoCA]
is the only museum in Arizona devoted to the art, architecture and
design of our time. Global in its focus, the Museum is a unique and
vital cultural resource for the Southwest, serving local audiences
as well as visitors from throughout the United States and abroad.
Designed by award-winning architect Will Bruder, SMoCA's minimalist
building (an ingenious renovation of a former movie theater) has
five galleries for showcasing changing exhibitions and works from
the Museum's growing permanent collection. SMoCA also features an
outdoor sculpture garden housing James Turrell's "Knight Rise," one
of the renowned artist's few public skyspaces, and "Scrim Wall," a
monumental curtain of translucent glass panels by James Carpenter
Design Associates. The Museum presents a wide variety of educational
programs and special events for adults and families, including
lectures, docent-led tours, workshops and classes. The Museum Store
@ SMoCA offers classic design objects and furnishings, contemporary
jewelry, art and architecture books and imaginative gifts for all
occasions.
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