Against the Grain
If you get out of the house on occasion, chances are that someone somewhere will do or say something that will agitate, confound, or inspire you. Counter-Intuitive: Engaging Racial Stereotypes aims to do just that. Echoing the sentiments of the esteemed Kara Walker and Michael Ray Charles, Chicagoan Floyd Atkins, and Texas native Deborah Roberts (who Code Z hipped you to here and here) have joined forces for this exhibition. Both artists, referencing stereotypical imagery, set out to deconstruct the perceptions and institutions that perpetuate said images. Things do fall apart.
In the Age of Apologies, and shadow of our crusades to ban words and rampant political correctness, Counter-Intuitive: Engaging Racial Stereotypes willingly opens dialogues that tackle those thorny issues that rub many people the wrong way, especially on the visual arts front. While this may be seen as antagonistic and counter-productive, Deborah reminds us that “Our (collective) identity is tied up in how we are perceived and the misconceptions that have imprisoned our growth.” A fact reiterated by this exhibition.
Coming ahead of Obsidian Arts Inc.’s Exploding Language, Counter-Intuitive whets our appetites for the possible sea change that identity and issue-based art may see in the double-oh-seven. There’s no time like the present. Time to unlearn.
Counter-Intuitive ends April 7 at Chicago State University’s Presidents Gallery.