Nancy’s Reviews > EyeMinded: Living and Writing Contemporary Art > Status Update

Read essay (11/37) "To/From Los Angeles with Bette Saar. This is the first essay that really did not deliver. I learned more about the incredible artist Betye Saar in my own investigation in the internet that in Ms Jones's essay.

Read essays (8-9-10/37). Nr 8 was amazing essay about David Hammons (1943). An artist I have never heard of but will not soon forget! His "Spades in Chains" (1969) took my breath away. Simple elements and he created a power look at racism and racial stereotypes in USA. This work in now in MOMA. The other essay and poem were by Ms Jones's mother.

Read essay: (7/37) "Interview with Kcho (Alexis Machado, Cuba 1970) (7/37). The artist gave the interview in 1996 when he was 26 yr. I was impressed by is vision and depth understanding of art at such an early age. Ms Kellie Jones had all the right questions...so that is 60% of the success of an interview.

Read essay: "Installations by Women" (6/37) - Usually when I see an "installation" in a museum I look, scratch my head and ask myself: "...what the heck is this?" Ms Kellie Jones explains by highlighting several female artists from Aruba, Cuba, UK, USA, Mexico, Kenya, S.A, Uganda! Core message: installation is an object/idea in artist's world experience + a whiff of the abstract!

Read essay ( 4/33) Tracey Rose (1974) a South African conceptual artist. Famous work is "Ciao Bella", for the 49th Venice Biennale, held in 2001, was an exhibition of international contemporary art. Essay was very insightful and introduced to terms as "township art" and Ms Rose's use of "scopic gaze" in Ciao Bella. Other conceptual artists mentioned: D. Hammon, A. Piper, C. Breitz, M. Langa and K. Geers.

Read essay: "AKA Saartje" not very insightful. I had hopes that the Q&A with South African female artists would be better...but unfortunately I was glad to finish the writings by Kellie Jones and move on to the next essay.