America the Beautiful | The Old Stone House
Nine artists examine the history of the nation and what it means to be an American today
Now on view at The Old Stone House [OSH] is America the Beautiful, a group exhibition that addresses the complexities of our nation’s history and current socio-political concerns while celebrating what it means to be an American today.
The works on view “exhibit a personal meditation on the outside world, while honing and celebrating the actionable personal power inherent in art making," according to the show’s organizers.
The seeds for this timely exhibition were planted three years ago when Kim Maier, the Executive Director of OSH, approached artist Manju Shandler about curating a show for the venue. “Thinking that far ahead, we knew it would be an election time,” Shandler recalled at the opening reception for the exhibit. “I put together a proposal for America the Beautiful. It was open-ended but positive, celebrating all that is well and good in this country as well as difficult times.”
America the Beautiful serves as a reminder that creativity and community are important in challenging times. The works on view uplift and inspire viewers to take action.
“For us it’s a tumultuous time, and we want people to understand that individually we all have our say in how we move forward together as a community,” noted Maier. “Art, in itself, is activism, and individual activism comes through our connections to our community and how we behave ethically, morally, and helping to educate those around us about the way that we govern ourselves.”
While considering the principles of American democracy — equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — the participating artists cover a range of emotions from "sadness to joy, rage, humor, fear, excitement and exhaustion," to create works that respond to "this moment in time," according to OSH.
Our Hearts Dance Birthing Secret Sunlight on the Sea Floor, Traci Johnson’s psychedelic explosion of faux fur, yarn, and mirrors, welcomes visitors to the exhibition with the liberating message to be free to be yourself. Johnson hopes viewers will be inspired to be proud of who they are and says the work represents “being okay with how I present myself and how I feel about myself on the inside and outside.”
Dale Williams takes a more cautionary approach with his ominous Portraits of Democracy, four paintings from a series of 50, that illustrate the artist’s concerns with the “demise of democratic ideals and growing partisan intolerance in the years prior to the 2020 presidential election,” problems that persist today.
Brooklyn-based Demarcus McGaughey’s mixed media portraits proudly honor his family’s heritage. “His portraiture work reveals triumphant tales of African American subjects who have manifested their destiny,” according to the exhibition notes, with jaunty, golden crowns drawn above his subjects’ heads and vibrant pops of color.
Esperanza Cortés’ luminous Conversion pays homage to the courageous women in her family. “My mother’s side of the family are bullfighters, two generations of women bullfighters.” Born in Colombia and raised in Manhattan, Cortés was influenced watching her mother meticulously working on "all different kinds of textile work and needlework,” including knitting, crochet, and embroidery. The artist’s dazzling, embroidered work made with crystal beads reflects “the suit of light that the bullfighters wear,” a reverential nod to her brave forebears.
Fay Ku’s vividly detailed drawing, The Great Parade, is informed by her experiences as a woman and an immigrant. Ku, who moved to the U.S. from Taiwan at age three, grew up in various states — Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and Maryland — where “there were very few people who looked like us,” she recalls. At home, her family spoke Mandarin, ate Chinese food, and shared stories about Taiwanese/Chinese history. “These stories had no images or visual counterparts. This was before Amazon, so there were no children’s books. My parents would just tell me stories from their memories…. I think it all melded into childhood memories that aren’t real memories.” Her piece combines childhood recollections of America and Taiwan into one politically-charged or community-focused event, filled with people — and a few dogs — protesting or celebrating.
JoAnne McFarland’s two pieces, Open to Justice and Selfie with Lilies, feature a delicate, antique, German doll. “One of the things that I love about the doll so much is that it’s not ugly, hateful, or a caricature of Black people, even though it’s an antique doll from the late 1800s,” the artist says. McFarland has been painting the doll with its “little, white christening gown, little red mouth” and “very black skin” for 20 years. “I just find this object so magnetic,” she says.
“The history of Black people in the United States is so fraught, and to have this doll, that I render in a way that I hope people find really beautiful, matters greatly to me, and I hope to other people,” she adds. “It just fits so perfectly in this exhibition about where we are now as a nation and how are we going to get past this moment that feels so chaotic and full of hate. We can feel love trying to rise. And whatever we can do to help that happen…. I think exhibitions like this matter greatly now.”
America the Beautiful
The Old Stone House
336 3rd Street (between 3rd & 4th Streets), Park Slope, Brooklyn
Exhibition on view: February 27 through April 27
This exhibition sounds amazing. Definitely going to get over to The Old Stone House and take a look! Thanks for the great write up!