In an emotional opening ceremony at his solo exhibit Birth of the Cool, artist Barkley L. Hendricks lost his cool for a moment.
The exhibit at the artist’s alma mater, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, is a double homecoming. He grew up in Philadelphia and went to the public schools here. He spoke shortly after being presented a framed poster picturing a number of successful people–Hendricks is one of them–who came from Philadelphia’s public schools.
Hendricks was clearly moved, and seemed for a moment struck with disbelief. He thanked his teachers, especially a Mrs. Bridges and a Mr. Freddie Bacon–Bacon was there and stood up when his name was called. “If it weren’t for [Bacon’s] leadership…I’ll just leave it at that,” Hendricks said.
Then he switched to a more humorous note: “I describe myself as being pre-aerosol,” referring to graffiti and his youth.
And then he began tearing up. “My feelings are beyond words [long pause as he tried to gather himself] because I could have been dead.”
After that, he spoke briefly about art–the substance of his triumphant return. It isn’t often that an artist gets two rounds of success, but that is what happened to Hendricks. He was hot, then not, and now we have “Birth of the Cool.” I just want to say the life-size portraits are spectacular, smart, and best viewed in person, where they are positively luminous. I could say there’s no Kehinde Wiley without Barkley Hendricks, but that makes Hendricks sound like merely a stepping stone, a means to an end. Hendricks is an end in and of himself.
