The Boston Art Podcast

Hey guys, Theo and Brian here to provide some quick context for the upcoming episode. What you’re about to listen to is the fifth segment in a seven part interview series we recorded this fall about an exhibition that is currently on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The exhibition is titled “Touching Roots, Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas”, and it is located on the third floor of the Art of the Americas wing in the MFA.

This exhibition is included with general admission, so there is no extra cost to see it, and we highly recommend you check it out.

This week’s installment is with Boston Artist, Stephen Hamilton. According to Stephen’s website, “his Work incorporates both Western and African techniques, blending figurative painting and drawing with resist dyeing, weaving, and woodcarving. Each image is a marriage between the aesthetic perspectives and artistry of both traditions. This forms a body of work, which serves as a conceptual and visual bridge between the ancient and modern worlds. Through this, he explores elements of black identity through time and space on its own terms.

We were able to talk to seven of the curators and artists involved in the exhibition, and for the sake of clarity, we are going to release these in chronological order, so you can learn with us. Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy the show.

http://www.itanproject.com/

https://linktr.ee/theartofstephenhamilton

https://www.instagram.com/theartofstephenhamilton/

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/

Hey guys, Theo and Brian here to provide some quick context for the upcoming episode. What you’re about to listen to is the fourth segment in a seven part interview series we recorded this fall about an exhibition that is currently on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The exhibition is titled “Touching Roots, Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas”, and it is located on the third floor of the Art of the Americas wing in the MFA.

This exhibition is included with general admission, so there is no extra cost to see it, and we highly recommend you check it out.

This week's installment is with artist, Ife Franklin. Her work has been shown in museums and galleries all over the state, she’s a published author, an amazing speaker, and she has two pieces in the show, one of which inspired the title of the exhibition, Touching Roots. She is also an SMFA graduate and a well known artist in the city of Boston. Her website reads, “Ifé Franklin's practice involves several genres of art-making inspired by slave narratives, dreams, dance, song, and visions. Over the last decade she has been developing The Indigo Project which honors the lives and history of formerly enslaved Africans/African-Americans who labored to produce materials that generated the wealth of nations.”

We were able to talk to a bunch of the curators and artists involved in the exhibition, and for the sake of clarity, we are going to release these in chronological order, so you can learn with us. Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy the show.

That was Ife Franklin, Boston Artist and friend of the show. Learn more about her work by visiting, ifearts.com or following her instagram listed below. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time.

https://www.ifearts.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ife_franklin_slave_narrative/

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/

Karen Hampton is the first artist we will be meeting with for this project. She is a renowned and accomplished weaver and award winning artist. Her piece in the exhibition is titled, “Memories,” made in 1990. It is a beautiful strip woven, double weave cotton abstract piece. In her own words, Karen says, “As an artist of color, I have made a life long commitment to creating artwork that responds to the lives of my ancestors. My lens is anthropology and I study my own genealogy. I travel in my ancestors footsteps, I walk the roads where they lived, explored the plantations where they were enslaved, I am the storyteller.”

https://www.kdhampton.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Hampton_(weaver)

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/

In which Theo & Brian sit down with independent curator, Chenoa Baker to discuss her work on, "Touching Roots: Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas," now on view at the MFA, Boston.

"Chenoa Baker (she/her) is an empathetic curator, wordsmith, and descendant of self-emancipators. She has worked with many institutions including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. Her writing appears in Boston Art Review, Sixty Inches From Center, Helena Metaferia: Generations, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Burnaway, Art & Object, Black Art in America, and Sugarcane Magazine."

Support Chenoa on Patreon & follow her on Instagram.

https://www.patreon.com/Chenoa

Instagram: chenoa.baker.77

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/

In which Theo & Brian interview curator, Martina Tanga, about, "Touching Roots: Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas."

The exhibition is titled “Touching Roots, Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas”, and it is located on the third floor of the Art of the Americas wing in the MFA.

This exhibition is included with general admission, so there is no extra cost to see it, and we highly recommend you check it out.

The first interview we are going to present to you was with Martina Tanga, a curator of the MFA’s Art of the Americas collection. Martina was our original contact for this story, and she graciously introduced us to the other “Touching Roots” contributors.

We were able to talk to a bunch of the curators and artists involved in the exhibition, and for the sake of clarity, we are going to release these in chronological order, so you can learn with us. Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy the show.

Episode artwork by Loïs Mailou Jones, Ubi Girl from Tai Region, 1972

Boston Art Podcast is made by Brian Huntress & Theodora Earthwurms

Thanks to Joel Mongeon of Black Market Therapy for additional editing.

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Text below sourced from https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/touching-roots

Africa is at once a point of origin and a myriad of associations—real and imagined—for many Black artists working in the Americas. In the 20th century, some artists self-consciously responded to writer and philosopher Alain LeRoy Locke’s call to engage with “those ancestral arts.” Others continued to practice African artistic traditions passed down through generations.

This exhibition traces narratives of Blackness across the Atlantic world by bringing together work from artists who absorbed and reinterpreted African artistic practices, sacred customs, and cultural expressions. The artworks honor ancestral spirits and Black legacies through painting, sculpture, textiles, and dance. Artists from throughout the Americas are represented—with a special focus on those from or working in New England, like Allan Rohan Crite, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Ifé Franklin, Bryan McFarlane, Karen Hampton, and Stephen Hamilton. Highlights from the collection include Ubi Girl from Tai Region (1972) by Loïs Mailou Jones, African Woman (about 1933) by James Richmond Barthé, Untitled (1943) by Wifredo Lam, and George Jackson (1971) by Kofi Bailey.

Visitors can explore how shared cultural heritages created connections that formed the basis of communities, highlighting the importance of Africa’s presence in the Americas. By turning their gaze inward and toward Africa, Black artists grounded their artistic expressions and infused strength and insight into their work.

This exhibition accompanies “Stories Artists Tell: Art of the Americas, the 20th Century,” a suite of galleries spanning place and time, and exploring different themes surrounding 20th-century art from the Americas.

Outside scholars and collaborators have been essential in the conceptualization and planning of this exhibition. Many thanks to Chenoa Baker, Kyrah Malika Daniels, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, and Stephen Hamilton.

In which Theo & Brian go for a drive, grab some food, and catch up.

Big announcement at the end.

Episode artwork by friend of the show, Ed Nute.

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/

In which Brian & Theo sit down with artist, Alison Darrow.

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/

In which Theo & Brian talk about professionalism, promotion, social media, and their new website.

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/

In which Theo & Brian sit down with frontman of acclaimed emo band, Bullpup, to discuss their new single, "The MC."

Out on all platforms now.

Episode artwork by Brian Huntress. Made for Bullpup's release of "The MC."

https://www.instagram.com/bullpupband/

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/

In which Theo & Brian sit down with photographer, Ed Nute.

https://nutephotography.com/

https://www.instagram.com/enutephoto/?hl=en

https://www.bostonartpodcast.com/