On July 12, 2019, for our series Voices on Art, in collaboration with the Blanton Museum of Art, Art This Week Productions filmed this conversation between Jeffrey Gibson, Tracy Adler, and Veronica Roberts.
This talk was filmed in conjunction with the exhibition Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day, on view at the Blanton Museum of Art, July 14-September 29, 2019.
From the Blanton website–“Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day is a vibrant, celebratory exhibition in which the artist brings together his Choctaw and Cherokee heritage and a range of diverse artistic and cultural influences to explore race, sexuality, religion, and gender. More than 50 works made between 2014 and 2018 include intricately beaded wall hangings and punching bags, paintings, ceramics, garments, helmets, and a new video commissioned for the exhibition, I Was Here (2018). The film follows Macy, a trans-Choctaw woman living on a reservation in rural Mississippi, melding documentary and fantastical elements in a way that harkens back to independent films from the 1980s and 90s such as “Bagdad Cafe” (1987) and “My Own Private Idaho” (1991).
In his work, Gibson (b. 1972; based in Claverack, New York) often joins exuberant colors, patterns, and materials with text borrowed from such authors as James Baldwin and Simone de Beauvoir or song lyrics by Grace Jones, Boy George, and other musicians. These combinations highlight the unexpected connections between ceremonies and performances found in Native American powwow rituals, dance clubs, and drag shows, underscoring the complex vitality of Gibson’s eclectic sources.”
Funding for the artist conversation provided by the Loraine O’Gorman Gonzales Creative Craft Fund.
Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day is organized by the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York.
Generous funding for this exhibition at the Blanton is provided by Jeanne and Michael Klein, with additional support from Suzanne Deal Booth and Bridget and Patrick Wade.
Thanks to Jeffrey, Tracy, and Veronica for allowing us to film the talk. Thanks also to the Blanton Museum of Art staff for their help recording this talk.
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