The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute of Williamstown, Massachusetts has announced its eleven Clark Fellows for the 2006-2007 academic year, and we're seeing two notable recipients for the spring: The Studio Museum in Harlem's Lowery Sims and the University of Chicago's Darby English.
Darby English teaches postwar American art and visual and cultural studies as assistant professor of art history at the University of Chicago. While at the Clark, he will conduct a "historiographic study of post-black art, focusing on the peculiar convergence of racialism and formalism" in this aesthetic movement.
Lowery Sims, meanwhile, who recently went from being the Director of the Studio Museum to being its Adjunct Curator of the Permanent Collection--a role created specifically for her--will take up residence in Williamstown to examine "the phenomena of appropriation and parody in the work of African-American artists, with particular attention to the contextualization of these works within contemporary criticism." Yeah, we want that gig.
The Clark Institute awards fellowships to national and international scholars, critics, and museum professionals who work to understand the visual arts and their role in culture. According to the Clark, the program encourages a commitment to "research in the theory, history, and interpretation of works from all periods and genres."
