Tree of Life: A Curatorial Talk with Cydney Pickens скачать в хорошем качестве

Tree of Life: A Curatorial Talk with Cydney Pickens

Tree of Life: A Curatorial Talk with Cydney Pickens, Curatorial Fellow at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft Join us for a discussion with Curatorial Fellow Cydney Pickens on the exhibition Tree of Life, on view now at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC). Tree of Life showcases sculptural objects made from the African blackwood tree, also known as mpingo or Dalbergia melanoxylon. Native to Tanzania and the territory surrounding Mt. Kilimanjaro, this tree has a naturally dark, nearly black, colored core and other unique properties that make it a preferred choice of material for ornamental turning, carving, and use in woodwind instruments. This exhibition features figural sculptures carved in the Makonde tradition by Tanzania-based artists, Joseph Singombe and Pius Mtembe; ornamental turning by the late Texas-based artist James Harris; and woodwind instruments that explore the different methods artists are using when approaching this material. Cydney Elaine Pickens (she/her) is a curator, appraiser, and avid supporter of the arts currently based in Houston, Texas. While attending the University of Houston, she successfully completed a dissertation investigating the relationship between traditional and modern performance art in Africa and Europe as vehicles for metaphysical understanding. This research continues to inform her craft-centered and community-engaged curatorial practice celebrating the interconnectivity of society through creative expression in raw and synthetic materials such as wood, glass, fiber, and metal. Through her personal art collection, relationships with artists, collectors, and institutions, she displays her devotion to sharing the influence of heritage and cultural identity on contemporary art.