At the museum soon: MacArthur Genius Aminah
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MacArthur Genius Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson
Tacoma Art Museum
1701 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98402
UPDATED NEWS RELEASE
August 28, 2006
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Alyssa Rosso, Public Relations Coordinator, 253.272.4258
x3002, aro...@tacomaartmuseum.org
(Tacoma, WA) - Symphonic Poem: Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson features
about ninety works that offer, in Robinson's singular voice, a
commentary on the lives, history, and spirituality of Africans in
Africa as well as African-Americans in her native Columbus, Ohio.
Tacoma Art Museum is the only West-Coast venue for this nationally
touring exhibition. Symphonic Poem opens September 16 and will remain
on view until January 28, 2007.
Robinson is well-known for the amazing variety and range of materials
and techniques used in her work. Her mother taught her needle- and
button-work. Her father taught her about "hogmawg," a mixture of
mud, pig grease, dyes, sticks, glue, and lime, that she regularly
incorporates into her sculptural pieces. Fabric, button-work, paint,
ink, charcoal, clay, and found objects help her to create both two- and
three-dimensional works that intentionally draw from folk and craft
traditions.
In a review of the exhibition in the February 24, 2006 New York Times,
arts critic Grace Glueck wrote. "Ms. Robinson's magic with
materials and her compositional ingenuity draw you in."
In fact, that ingenuity and the artist's significance were affirmed
in 2004 when she received a MacArthur Fellowship, more commonly known
as a "genius grant." She once described her subjects as "a
reflection of bridges to cross - Africa, the Middle Passage, slavery,
civil rights, the artists, the teachers, the heroes, and always the
children looking to the future." She nurtures the sense of sankofa,
an Akan word meaning that the past must be reclaimed in order for a
culture to move forward.
Robinson's work reflects her experiences in Columbus'
African-American neighborhoods - such as Poindexter Village, one of
the country's first federal housing projects - and in her travels
to Africa and other parts of the world. Whether in Jerusalem, New York
City, or Sapelo Island, Georgia, she depicts themes of social change,
spirituality, courage, humanity, and family.
A highly narrative artist, Robinson typically depicts stories of the
preservation of shared history and its bearing on individual
experience. She has researched the lives of her ancestors, for example,
in slavery on Sapelo Island, Georgia, and their migration to the
community known as the Blackberry Patch in Columbus. She preserves such
scenes from African-American life and captures their spirit and sense
of community in her work.
"Robinson reflects the times and places in which
she's lived and the struggle for civil rights and social justice,"
said Rock Hushka, Interim Head of the Curatorial Department and Curator
of Contemporary and Northwest Art. "Her art is as colorful as it is
imaginative in its combination of materials, processes, narratives, and
traditions. For Northwest audiences, this exhibition is a celebration.
Aminah's work draws heavily from folk traditions, and the media she
uses furthers that authentic voice. She's formally trained, and has
spent a lifetime as a visual artist, and the strength of that
background is apparent in her work."
Barbara Johns is the Guest Resident Curator for the
Tacoma presentation of Symphonic Poem. She is also former Chief Curator
of Tacoma Art Museum and is a consultant for the Northwest African
American Museum. Artist Barbara Earl Thomas, Deputy Director and
Curator of the Northwest African American Museum, serves as Exhibition
Programming Consultant for the Robinson exhibition, and will host the
Sunday Dialogues, monthly discussions focusing on some of the themes in
Robinson's work (details at www.TacomaArtMuseum.org).
Robinson studied at Columbus College of Art and Design. She was
employed by the Columbus Public Library and, for nineteen years, was an
art instructor for the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. Her
art has been regularly exhibited in her native Columbus, Ohio, as well
as regionally, and nationally.
Symphonic Poem: Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson was organized by the
Columbus Museum of Art and Arts Midwest in partnership with the Ohio
Arts Council. Carole M. Genshaft, Adjunct Curator of Education at the
Columbus Museum of Art, serves as curator for the national tour. The
Tacoma Art Museum presentation is supported by Key Foundation - a
foundation funded by KeyBank.
Tacoma Art Museum connects people and builds community through art. The
museum serves the diverse communities of the region through its
collection, exhibitions, and learning programs, emphasizing art and
artists from the Northwest. The museum's five galleries display an
array of top national shows, the best of Northwest art, creatively
themed exhibitions, and historical retrospectives. In addition, there
is an Education Wing for children, adults, and seniors with an art
resource center, classroom, and studio for art making. Tacoma Art
Museum is located in Tacoma's Museum District, near the Museum of
Glass, the Washington State History Museum, and historic Union Station.