HOT LINKS: October 15, 2012

Rashid Johnson, 6th of August, 2012, branded red oak flooring, black soap, wax, 96.5 x 132.5 x 3 inches. (Fredrik Nilsen / David Kordansky Gallery) Image via LATimes.com

Over the past few days, the following news items caught the attention of BlackArtistNews:

Rashid Johnson’s disparate aesthetics provoke and instruct  

(L.A. Times)

MoMA’s Jazz Interlude Gala to Honor Spike Lee and Mera & Donald Rubell 
(BroadwayWorld.com)

Meshell Ndegeocello Credits Arts Education; Redefining Path to Success 

(PBS.org)

Hebru Brantley visits planet America 

(ChicagoReader.com)

Display of art or racism? 

(CarolinaAlive.com)

Nikkole Salter named Robert S. Duncanson ‘Artist in Residence’ at the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati 

(TheCincinnatiHerald.com)

Middle of Nowhere and the Black Independent Film Movement 

(HuffingtonPost.com)

Artist Melvin Edwards begins process for Vinegar Hill sculpture 

(Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Kara Walker Silhouettes, contrast define art of racism 

(Oregonlive.com)

Storm over statue highlights angst over Indianapolis and its relationship with public art 

(Evansville Courier & Press)

Grand re-opening of Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center features ‘Afro Prism’ by Samuel “Cool Hand” Mccain 

(JacksonFreePress.com)

GENESIS: Shelton Jackson Lee / March 20, 1957

Jessica Rycheal, A Spike Lee Joint, Vector illustration, 2012 via JessicaRycheal.com

PORTRAIT BY JESSICA RYCHEAL

Everybody knows that Spike Lee is an important filmmaker, but do they realize how good he is with actors, and how innovative he is with style? We live in a period when many filmmakers use either a straightforward meat-and-potatoes style, or draw attention with meaningless over-editing, queasy-cams and showboat shots. With Lee, as with any classical director, the emphasis is on the story and the people. But he's always there, nudging us, being sure what we notice, moving his camera not merely with efficiency but with grace and innovation. Because he doesn't go out of his way to call attention, how many realize what a master stylist he is?

~Roger Ebert

40 Acres and a Mule