On today’s episode of the Blank Canvas host, Amanda Coulson, is joined in the studio by NAGB Chief Curator, Holly Bynoe and practicing artist Jeffrey Meris to speak about their involvement in Übersee: Cuba and The Bahamas, Contemporary Art from the Caribbean, curated by Bynoe and Cuban independent curator, Tonel. The show is on view at Halle 14 through August 6th in Leipzig, Germany.
Lavar Munroe’s “The Migrant” is an illustrative portrayal of a spindle-legged, knock-kneed nomad carrying his home on his back. In many ways, the tale this digital print tells of the ubiquitous image of the immigrant is reminiscent of the Phil Stubbs classic song, ‘Cry of the Potcake.” The xenophobia and self-hate we deal with as a nation is quite easily summated in the lyrics of the catchy tune, “they don’t love me, they only know me when they need me,” and Munroe’s look at the struggle of the emigrant bolsters this when we think of our history as forced immigrants. For instance, can we image our Bahamas without teachers, nurses and doctors from elsewhere in the region working alongside those we consider to be ‘born’ Bahamians?
This week’s “Blank Canvas” hosts part of the Bahamian contingent of delegates who attended the pan-Caribbean conference for art professionals, “Tilting Axis,” hosted this year at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands. “Tilting Axis” is a roving conference, conceived by the NAGB’s own Chief Curator, Holly Bynoe (while she was still the publisher of ARC Magazine), and Annalee Davis, Director of the Fresh Milk Art Platform in Barbados.
The American watercolour painter, Hartwell Leon Woodcock (1853-1929) is very much one of the typical representatives of British colonial-period painting where The Bahamas is concerned. His quaint depiction of a Bahamian home and landscape – complete with outdoor amenities associated with the time – fits in with the usual canon of charming images from the era. In “Native Hut” (1915) this portrayal of the Caribbean picturesque is precisely why the work was chosen as part of the 2017-18 Permanent Exhibition, “Revisiting An Eye For the Tropics,”, and why it is an important part of the National Collection.
This week’s “Blank Canvas” takes a look at fashion in The Bahamas, with studio guests including cultural producer Owen Bethel (left) and Bahamian designer Renaldo Geumm (right). Both are in the studio to talk about the upcoming event, “Islands of the World Fashion Showcase,” (ITWS) which is now in its seventh edition and will take place in the lush tropical outdoor setting of Graycliff’s Humidor Piazza on Saturday, 20th May 2017.
How do we forget that when we lose our tangible culture, we actually also lose our intangible culture? They usually go together. Culture is not just a product that we package and sell. It is actually a process, a way of life, a rhythm that is embodied in a place. Exuma and Long Island, Acklins and Bimini have very different rhythms. They do not all practice Rake ‘n’ Scrape the same way, nor do they cook the same dishes in the same fashion. Boat building on Abaco is different from boat building in Long Island; each community has its own identity and rhythm that does not conform to national structures.
A fire-breathing hell-beast, a scaly winged thing of fantasy – sometimes good, sometimes dangerous and greedy: Dragons. Not a staple in the established subject matter for Amos Ferguson, but nonetheless a treasure in the National Collection, an entity worthy of having an epic flying reptilian guarding it for sure. Ferguson’s “The Dragon” (1991) is an outlier for a lot of reasons. While his usual practice includes references to biblical scenes, Bahamian folklore, and more often than not, Bahamian scenery – with the iconic titles painted in Bahamian vernacular that act as a mirror for our particular language traditions, this piece doesn’t quite typify his practice.
Let your aspiring painter embrace their inner Brent Malone at the NAGB’s Mixed Media Summer Art Camp this June and July. They will explore the world of the expressionists and impressionists, paint from observation and sample the wonderfully expressive qualities of abstract through the lens of Bahamian history.
Bain Town is a space of much notorietythese days, as a number of historically freed slave villages on the island have grown to be, but it wasn’t always so, and there is certainly a need to celebrate the history of these areas and the sense of community and pride amongst those who remember how different the place was merely a few decades ago. So many of our major artists in The Bahamas came from Over-the-Hill, perhaps most notably our beloved Maxwell Taylor, and embracing the greatness that comes out of these communities is important.
Antonius Roberts, one of The Bahamas’ leading artists, exploring themes of nature, humanity and spirituality through a diverse range of genres. This May, we focus on his piece, “Procession of Females in White Uniforms” as our Artwork of the Month. The painting is a part of the Gallery’s National Collection and currently on view in the Permanent Exhibition “Revisiting An Eye For The Tropics”.