Roberta interviews Eric Battle, artist and Art Director of the new book, “BLAM! Black Lives Always Mattered,” a graphic novelization of the life stories of 14 Black Philadelphians, illustrated by 12 illustrators and comics artists with connections to Philadelphia. The large hard-back book with many full-color pages is a project of Temple University Library’s Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection. The book will be delivered to the city’s high school students and, in time, available to the public.
Read MoreOur contributor Janyce Denise Glasper writes an opinionated essay about artists’ placement in museums. Where does Jasper Johns go? Where does Emma Amos? Some artists receive accolades mostly after their death, while others receive praise again and again in life. The art world is still a mostly white world and mostly a white man’s club.
Read MoreNew Artblog Contributor Kate Brock reviews ‘Jennifer Packer: The Eye is Not Satisfied With Seeing,’ a retrospective of the painter’s radiant portraits, interiors, and funerary bouquets. “The lack of dimensional representation of Black people, especially Black women, in the history of painting… leaves the eye unsatisfied… Packer’s vision reveals the historic absences,” Kate says. Catch the show at the Whitney before it closes April 17, 2022.
Read MoreDeborah Krieger interviews Kelsey Halliday Johnson, artist and current Executive Director of Portland, Maine’s SPACE (plus former Philly resident/ arts worker/ member of Philly’s DIY-alternative community). Kelsey is enthusiastically dedicated to her role at SPACE, a multi-disciplinary independent maker hub; in particular their grantmaking program, the Kindling Fund.
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