>> COMING UP

ON NYC ARTS, LONG ISLAND CITY.

A LOOK FOR THE EXHIBITION ART IN

THE AGE OF MASS ENCARSERATION.

>> ONE OF THE MORE SYMBOLIC AND

USE OF PORTRAIT IS TO OFFER

IMPRIGZED PERSONS ANOTHER

PICTURE OF THEMSELVES, BESIDES

MUG SHOT, IVY.

>> SINCE 2014, HE HAS ENGAGED IN

THIS SERIES THAT CONSISTENTS OF

20 MINUTE SKETCHES OF OTHER

IMPRISONED PEOPLE.

>> AND 1925, 1945, NOW ON VIEW

AT THE WHITNEY.

>> HIS FIRST WAS IN CALIFORNIA.

COLLEGE.

WE HAVE REPLICATED THAT MURAL AT

HALF SCALE.

IT FILLS THE GALLERY.

VOCABULARY.

ALONGSIDE THE AMERICAN ARTISTS

THAT HE INFLUENCED.

>> FUNDING FOR NYC ART SYSTEM

MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THIS PROGRAM

IS SUPPORTED IN PARTS BY PUBLIC

FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY

COUNCIL.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING.

NYC ARTS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY

FIRST REPUBLIC BANK.

>> FIRST THING'S FIRST.

AT FIRST REPUBLIC BANK --

>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO

NYC ARTS, ON LOCATION, AT THE

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.

I AM IN THE GRAND SPACE,

CONTAINING THE GRAND SPACE OF

THE TEMPLE OF GRANDEUR.

WHEN THE ROMAN EMPEROR AUGUSTUS

RULED EGIST.

THE TEMPLE AND THE GATE WAY,

GIFTED BY EGYPT TO THE UNITED

STATES.

AWARDED TO THE MET TWO YEARS

LATER, AND INSTALLED HERE IN

1978.

IT WAS DONE AS YOU CAN IMAGINE

WITH THE GREATEST OF CARE.

THE SETTING WAS DECIDED AROUND

THE ORIGINAL LOCATION, REFLECTED

POOL THAT REFLECTS THE NILE.

TODAY, IT IS ONE OF THE MOST

BELOVED WORKS OF ART AT THE MET.

AS THE MET CONTINUES TO

CELEBRATE 150th ANNIVERSARY, I

WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU

SOME OF THE WIDE RANGING

EXPECTATIONS ON VIEW.

THE COST OF ART AND THE NOTION

OF HISTORICAL WORTH.

3262 MASTERPIECES, NORTHERN

EUROPEAN ART, THE COLLECTION,

WITH ONE IMPORTANT LOAN, THE

EXPECTATION EXPLORES SYSTEMS AND

WHAT WAS THE PRICE OF GOLDSSMITH

WORK OR STAINED GLASS.

AND LEVELS OF EXPERTISE AND THE

ORIGINAL OWNERS SOMETIMES

UNEXPECTED WAYS.

PRESENTING WORKS OF DIFFERENT

MEDIA AND FUNCTION SIDE BY SIDE,

THE XXZ CAPTURES THE SPLENDOR

AND EXCITEMENT OF THIS.

THE EXHIBITION WILL BE ON VIEW

VIEW 2021.

ON VIEW, THE EXHIBITION IN

PRAISE OF PAINTING, DUTCH

MASTERPIECES OF THE MET.

THE GOLDEN AGES OF REM BRANT,

RANNIER.

DRAWN FROM THE PERMANENT

COLLECTION, ISSUES IN 17th

CENTURY DUTCH CULTURE.

TO PAINTERS FASCINATION, OF THE

DOMESTIC LIVES OF WOMEN.

FROM THE STILL LIFE, TO

PORTRAITS TO LANDSCAPES, THROUGH

PAINTING EFFECTS, THE ARTISTS

EVOKE NATURE WITH GREAT REALISM.

PRAISE IN PAINTING, AN

OPPORTUNITY TO DISPLAY CONSERVED

WORKS, INCLUDING THE DAYS OF

FLOWERS, AND REMBRANDT. ON VIEW.

A COMPELLINGINAR TIRVEGS ABOUT

SOME OF THE MOST BELOVED WORKS

OF WESTERN ARTS.

NOW, A NEW ON P.S. 1, LONG

ISLAND CITY, THE SOCIETY'S

EXTENSIVE USE OF IMPRISONMENT.

MARKING THE TIME OF MASS

INCARCERATION, TIME CONSUMING

AND SECRETIVE WAYS ARTISTS MUST

USE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES.

THOSE OUTSIDE OF THE PENAL

SYSTEM AFFECTED BY IT WE SPOKE

WITH NICOLE R. FLOOETWOOD, AT

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY AND THE

CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION.

>> LIFE IN TIME IS A LARGE GROUP

EXHIBITION THAT LOOKS AT THE

IMPACT OF MASS INCARCERATION.

THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY

CRIMINALIZATION.

ARTISTS WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN

PRISON OR HAVE BEEN IN PRISON.

AND ABOUT A THIRD OF THE ARTISTS

WHO HAVE NOT BEEN IN PRISON, BUT

FOR MANY YEARS, MAKING WORK THAT

INVESTIGATES PRISONS, ANTI-BLACK

VILEPS, AND THE RANGE OF ART IN

THE EXHIBITION CHALLENGE

ASSUMPTIONS OF WHAT IMPRISONED

PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF.

THEIR INTEREST, THEIR ACCESS,

THE KIND OF RESOURCES THAT THEY

BRING INTO THEIR CREATIVE LIVES,

AND MOST IMPORTANT THINGS, HOW

THEY WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE

COMMUNITY AROUND ART.

ONE OF THE FIRST WORKS THAT YOU

SEE WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE

GALLERY IS TA MECCA COLE'S LOCK

IN THE DARK, IT IS INCREDIBLY

POWERFUL.

SHE WAS IN PRISON FOR 26 YEARS.

SHE MADE THAT WORK IN RESPONSE

TO SOME ABUSES SHE WAS

EXPERIENCING BY PRISON STAFF.

INSTEAD OF SAYING ANYTHING OR

DOING SOMETHING THAT COULD HAVE

EXTENDED HER SENTENCE, SHE

TURNED TO MAKING ART.

SHE SAID IN THE MAKING OF THAT

WORK SHE CREATED HER OWN PLACE

OF SURVIVAL.

ANOTHER ARTIST IN THE SHOW, DEAN

GILLESPIE, I THINK HIS WORK

DEMONSTRATES THE WAY IMPRISONED

PEOPLE, OVER HIS 20 YEARS IN

PRISON, HE MADE THE VIBRANT,

PLAYFUL MINIATURES, BASED ON A

KIND OF NOSTANLGICAL IDEA OF

AMERICAA, AND ROUTE 66, AND

EVERY SINGLE MATERIAL THAT HE

USED WERE ITEM THAT IS HE

ACQUIRED IN PRISON, WITH THE

HELP OF OTHER INCARCERATED

PEOPLE, WHO WOULD HELP PROCURE

MATERIALS, AND HE USED THOSE

WORKS TO MANAGE WHAT I CALL

PENAL TIME.

EXPERIENCING TIME AND

PUNISHMENT.

HE WOULD PLAN OUT AND SAY, THIS

WILL TAKE SIX MONTHS, THAT IS

SIX MONTHS THAT WOULD PREOCCUPY

WHEN HE WAS FOCUSING ON ART.

MANAGING TIME, AND HE HAD BEEN

WRONGFULLY CONVICTED.

AS A WAY OF FILLING LIFE.

SHE HAD SOME CONTROL OVER HIS

LIFE.

WHAT HE WAS DOING WAS DOING

READING OF POLITICAL THEORY AND

BLACK HISTORY.

ONE OF HIS PAINTINGS, CALLED

ELAPSIUM.

IT IS CALLED THE BROOKS ICONIC

SLAVE SHIP, USED BY BRITISH

APOLITIONISTS.

HE OVER LAYS THE BLUE PRINT OF

PRISON, WHERE HE WAS

INCARCERATED, AND LINES UP THE

HOLDING CELLS OF THE PRISON AND

THE SHIP.

YOU SEE THE ARTISTS MAKING

CONNECTIONS.

SLAVERY, JIM CROWE SEGREGATION,

AND OTHER FORMS OF SEGREGATION

AND MASS INCARCERATION.

WHEN I STARTED WORKING ON THIS,

I HAD NO IDEA HOW IMPORTANT

PORTRAITS ARE TO IMPRISONED

PEOPLE.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND

SYMBOLIC, AND LITERAL USE.

ANOTHER REPRESENTATION OF

THEMSELVES, OTHER THAN THE MUG

SHOT OR THE PRISON IVY CARD.

I THINK YOU SEE THAT POWERFUL

EXHIBITION AND IN THE SERIES

THAT CONSISTENTS OF 20 MINUTE

FOR THE MOST PART GRAPHITE

SKETCHES OF OTHER IMPRISONED

PEOPLE.

HE IS UP TO 700 OF THESE IMAGES.

OUR EXHIBITION WAS SCHEDULED TO

OPEN ON APRIL 5th.

IT WAS DELAYED, WE OPENED

DECEMBER 17th.

THE WORKS ARE JARRING, AND THEY

MAKE VISUAL THE MULTIPLE CRISIS

OF PEOPLE IN PRISON.

WE KNOW THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS

NOT BEEN CONTROLLED IN PRISONS,

IT IS MORE HEIGHTENED.

RECENTLY, THERE WAS AN OUTBREAK.

THEY LOCKED DOWN THE PRISON.

WHICH MEANS PEOPLE ARE IN

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.

MULTIPLE LEVELS OF PUNISHMENT.

>> IN THE SAME ARTISTS WHO HAVE

NEVER BEEN IN PRISON, MEMBERSHIP

ARE ESTABLISHED ARTISTS.

AND SIMILAR.

AMERICAN ARTIST.

AND HER WORK SPEAKS SO MUCH TO

MCCARTHY CLIFFORD, A WHITE MAN

LIVING IN MINNEAPOLIS, CAME OUT

AND WENT TO ART SCHOOL.

THEY HAVE DONE THESE TAKING THE

STOOLS THAT PEOPLE SIT ON IN

PRISON VISITING ROOMS AND

TURNING IT INTO PLAYFUL BLUE AND

GRAY OBJECT THAT REMINDS HER OF

A CHILDREN'S GAME, JAX.

HIS WORK, IT WEIGHS A HALF TON.

IT CONSISTENTS OF HUNDREDS OF

CAFETERIA TRAYS, THAT YOU WOULD

SEE IN A PRISON.

YOU SEE THOSE TRAYS IN OTHER

INSTITUTIONS LIKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

OR ASYLUMS, FOR DANIEL, THAT IS

IMPORTANT.

HE IS THINKING ABOUT THE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALL OF

THESE TYPES OF DISCIPLINARY

INSTITUTIONS.

I WANT VISITORS TO REALLY BE

FULLY ENGAGED BY THE EXHIBITION.

I WANT IT TO BE A DUAL-PRONGED

EXPERIENCE OF BEING ABLE TO

APPRECIATE THE AESTHETICS THAT

ARE HAPPENING, AND ALSO, BE MORE

MOTIVATED THAN EVER.

BE SURE TO CONNECT WITH NYC ARTS

ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND

TWITTER.

NEXT, THE VISIT TO THE WHITNEY

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART.

CLOSED SINCE MARCH DUE TO THE

PANDEMIC, THE MUSEUM OPENED THE

DOORS AGAIN LAST MONTH, WITH NEW

MEASURES TO ENSURE SAFETY AND

PROPERTY SOCIAL DISTANCING.

THE MEXICAN REMARK OF AMERICAN

ART, 1925 TO 1945 HAS BEEN

EXTENDED.

AFTER THE REVOLUTION, THE NEW

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART AND THE

PUBLIC EMERGED IN MEXICO.

MOST VISIBLE IN WORKS OF THESE

ARTISTS.

INSPIRED BY THE STYLE AND

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE MURALISTS,

ARTISTS IN THE UNITED STATES,

FROM JACOB LAWRENCE AND JACKSON

POLLIC, STARTED THEIR NARRATIVES

IN ART AND HISTORY.

WE SPOKE ABOUT THE 200 WORKS BY

60 MEXICAN AND AMERICAN ARTISTS.

>> THE LEADING MEXICAN MURAL.

RIVERA, AND SECUROSE.

THE PRESIDENT COMMISSIONED

ARTISTS TO CREATE A MONUMENTAL

PUBLIC MURALS, FOR MEXICAN

HISTORY, AND AFTER THE

REVOLUTION, THE COUNTRY THAT HAD

BEEN FRACTURED BY THE 10-YEAR

CIVIL CONFLICT.

THERE WAS A SENSE IT HAD TO BE

REDEFINED.

AND THE REAL MEXICO, A BED ROCK

OF A NEW IDENTITY, DRAW FROM

EUROPE, AND INDIGENOUS MEXICAN

TRADITIONS.

A SELF PORTRAIT THAT SHE

CREATED.

THE MURALS CREATED A UNIQUE,

POWERFUL AESTHETIC THAT TOLD

STORY THAT IS EVERYDAY PEOPLE

COULD RELATE TO.

TO AMERICAN ARTISTS, THAT WAS

REVOLUTIONARY.

NOTHING LIKE IT HAPPENED SINCE

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE.

1927, ALL THREE LEADING

MURALISTS CAME TO THE U.S., WITH

INTENSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH U.S.

ARTISTS.

THE MOST FAMOUS OF THE MEXICAN

MURALISTS, HE WAS CALLED THE

GREATEST ARTIST THIS SIDE OF THE

ATLANTIC, THE HERO OF THE

WESTERN WORLD.

THE FRENCH HAVE ALWAYS BEEN

CREDITED AS THE DOMINANT

INFLUENCES ON U.S. ART.

1900 TO 1950.

THIS REWRITES HISTORY, IT WAS

THE MEXICAN ARTISTS WITH THE

MOST PROFOUND IDELOGICAL AND

AESTHETIC POLITICAL IMPACT ON

AMERICAN ARTISTS IN THE TWO

DECADES BETWEEN THE WARS.

STAYED IN CALIFORNIA.

COLLEGE.

PROMETHUOUS, WE HAVE THAT AT

HALF SCALE.

IT FILLS THE GALLERY WITH THIS

COMPOSITION, VOCABULARY.

HE WAS MESMERIZED.

HE SAID IT WAS SOMEBODY THAT

ALLOWED HIM TO THINK OF ART

FILLED WITH SOCIAL CONTENT AND

AESTHETICALLY POWERFUL.

WE HAVE A SERIES FROM THE

MIGRATION SERIES.

IT IS EVIDENT HE HAS TAKEN THE

COLORS, AND USING THEM TO TELL A

STORY ABOUT HIS PEOPLE.

JACKSON POLLACK AS AN

18-YEAR-OLD, HE VISITED THE

PROMETTUOUS MURAL, HE WAS

ENERGIZED.

HE SAID IT WAS THE MOST

IMPORTANT IN THE WESTERN

HEMISPHERE.

IN THE ROOM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF

JUXPOSITIONS, SIDE BY SIDE WITH

THE WORK, AND IT IS COMPELLING.

HE CHALLENGED THE IMAGERY, SENSE

OF TRAGEDY.

ORIGINAL.

THE YOUNGEST OF THE MEXICAN

MURALISTS, THE MOST MILITANT

POLITICALLY.

WENT TO LOUISIANA IN 1932.

THE BIGGEST MURAL COMMISSIONED

BY STERLING.

ASKING HIM TO PAINT A HAPPY MEN,

SURROUNDED BY PALM TREES, OF

COURSE, WHAT HE CAME UP WITH WAS

A STRONG DENUNCIATION OF

IMPERALLISM IN LATIN AMERICA.

IN THE CENTER, HE PANTDED IN THE

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

ASSISTANTS HAD DONE THE REST OF

THE MURAL.

AZTEC TEMPLES, HE WENT IN AND

PAINTED HIMSELF AN INDIGENOUS

MAN ON A CROSS, AND SHE WAS

HORRIFIED.

AND THE WHITE WASHED IT.

THE PHOTOGRAPH, TAKEN AT THE

TIME.

A POWERFUL MOMENT IN THE

EXHIBITION.

THE PICTURE IS AESTHETICALLY

SHORTENING OF FORM.

NEW INSPIRATION FROM THE

MEXICANS.

WHAT ARTISTS ARE DEALING WITH,

THE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE

EXHIBITION IS THE WORK IS SO

POWERFUL, AESTHET KAESHLGS

CONVEY A SOCIAL MESSAGE.

IT DOES HAVE A SOCIAL ROLE, ART

DOES SHOW US SOMETHING ABOUT HOW

WE CAN VIEW THE WORLD.

I THINK THAT IS A LESSON THAT IS

EXPRESSED IN THIS EXHIBITION,

AND I HOPE EVERYBODY COMES AND

CAN ENJOY.

>> THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS

EVENING.

AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF

ART.

GOOD NIGHT AND SEE YOU NEXT

TIME.

SENDING YOU HAPPY HOLIDAYS,

PLEASE JOIN US WHEN WE RETURN IN

THE NEW YEAR, REPRESENTING

LATINO DANCE.

WHICH CONTINUES TO INSPIRE

PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND

BACKGROUNDS.

>> THE MISSION IS TO BRING

TOGETHER COMMISSIONS AND

COMMUNITIES, TO SHARE, EXPLORE

THE JOYS, THE HERITAGE, OF

LATIPPO CULTURES.

>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO

NYC ARTS.

WNET. STUDIOS.

>> WHAT A PRIVILEGE TO BE ABLE

TO SIT DOWN AND TALK WITH YOU.

>> WHERE ARE WE?

>> WE ARE GOING TO TAKE NOTHING

FOR GRANTED.

IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH

THE CURATOR OF AN EXHIBITION OF

HOPE.

THE SCULPTURES BY THE ICONIC

NAMES.

>> I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO LEARN,

BEFORE I CAN ARTICULATE THE

DIFFERENCES.

>> WHEN I LISTEN TO THE LYRICS.

>> IN SOME RESPECTS, ARE YOU ON

SACRED GROUND.

A WOMAN SAW YOU PERFORM, SAID,

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY

BILLIE HALDAY.

>> DOING A PIECE THAT IS A

HUNDRED YEARS AGO, THIS COULD BE

NOW.

THE CARD BOARD GUITARS.

>> GREAT, YOU KNOW?

FUNDING FOR NYC ARTS IS MADE

POSSIBLE BY