Research Work and Events

Zemen Kidane, Curatorial Fellow at MoCADA, asked three talented artists, whose work was displayed in the Ain’t I a Woman exhibition at MoCADA, questions on their art and their experience with MoCADA. Elizabeth Colombo, Phoenix Savage, and Eric Alugas come from diverse backgrounds and work in dramatically different media. It is these assorted perspectives that make MoCADA a space for colorful dialogue. Get to know these artists and look out for more of their work in the future!

ZK:Zemen Kidane
EC: Elizabeth Colombo
PS: Phoenix Savage
EA:Eric Alugas

 
ZK: Where do you live and where are you from?

EC: I live now in Harlem. I was born and raised in France and my family is from Martinique.

PS:I currently live in Atlanta. I have been here for the last 3 years, while I do a MFA program from Georgia State University. I am departing the area in a few short weeks, to live and work in Nigeria on a Fulbright Fellowship.

EA: I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.  I now live and work in New York City, and exhibit here, as well as in Europe, and throughout the United States.
 
ZK: How was presenting your work for the exhibition?

EC: It truly was a privilege. Having recently moved to New York, being able to show at a museum under this empowering theme was more than I expected.

PS: It was very task oriented because I generally do not respond well to theme shows. However I felt it was a wonderful idea, and a great opportunity. It took forever to figure out what I would do. I pressured myself with one idea after the other, some just fell short of the mark and I would abandon them. I finally settled on the cast iron eggs.

EA: It was a pleasure and an honor to exhibit my work at MoCADA.  I think the museum is doing a wonderful and necessary job, in taking on ideas and work that are thought provoking, and vital. Ain’t I a Woman, was another example of that.

ZK: What medium did you use?

EC: I am a painter. Oil was my medium of choice for the work presented as the exhibition. I also tend to use watercolor.

PS: I normally work in cast metal and mixed media, but allow the sculptural idea to dictate the material. For example, I recently completed a sculpture made of nearly 12, 000 slip cast ceramic eggshells. There was no cast metal at all.  My work will generally involve some form of casting - be it metal, wax, or ceramic. The process it takes to cast is a way for me to honor the history of labor in America. African Americans have far surpassed the role of laborer, however it is the foundation of why we are on this land. I use process-oriented works as a way to pay homage to this fact as well as a form of meditative engagement with the art making process itself

EA: For the exhibition I did a rather large piece, in oils, with some mixed media, on heavy free hanging canvas that was suspended by metal grommets. This is how I approach most of my work. I like the canvas to be as close to the wall as possible, almost like a tapestry. I stopped painting on stretchers.

ZK: Can you explain what you took away from the concept of the exhibit?

EC: Definitely a feeling of empowerment. Black women- actually all women- regardless of race, social upbringing, and education have been put down throughout centuries. But let it be one brave enough to lead the march and everyone will follow.

PS:I walked away thinking MOCADA really knew how to throw down at an art opening. I enjoyed the vibe of the opening reception. The beauty of the people really caught my attention. On a more artistic note, I loved the exhibition being in a space of blackness that edified the creative process. That really moved me, and bolstered my resolve that I am living my destiny.

EA: The feelings that prevailed through and after the exhibition were respect, admiration, and pride, for the institution. The concept: “the abstract body of the black woman,” was a difficult, if not maddening one. Difficult concepts, however, may very well be the most worthy of effort. I am glad I participated in the exhibition, and that MoCADA had the courage to take on the concept.

ZK: What did you share/differ from the other works displayed?
 
EC: My work is more figurative than most of the other artwork presented at the show. As writing was the backbone of the concept, I chose to represent women and their relation to it- as a writer, or as a reader. We all had in common the idea of praising women, and highlighting how a single act can perpetuate greatness for generations to come.

PS: If I recall most of the works were two-dimensional. I am a sculptor pure and simple. I want to work with the object, the notion of object and the dichotomy that exists between objects and the historic objectification of the Black body.
 
EA: We were all, to some extent or another, dealing with this abstract concept of “the body of the black woman.” As for difference,  I think it was the only free-hanging work in the show.

ZK: How is Diaspora displayed in your piece(s)?

EC: From what I understand, diaspora has come to refer to other historical mass-dispersions of people with common roots often particularly movements of an involuntary nature, such as the African Transatlantic slave trade. I tend to depict precisely that. Some figures feel like they could be in the Southern United States, some in Europe,  and others in a Caribbean. The time and place is not set in stone , but they all come from the same people, the same roots, regardless of their geographical position. I try to paint my subject in a noble, regal, dignified way, which embraces their past and present upbringing.

PS: While I saw the pillows as representational of generations of women and their characteristic make up, the pillows could very well signify the range of women in the diaspora. I honestly do not think that I critically focus on the Diaspora, as much as I make the assumption that I am an element of the Diaspora. By nature, I expect that my relationship to contemporary art and blackness are present, because that is the engine that is driving my work. I doubt that I have any overt ideas about the Diaspora shouting from my work, but you will locate yourself as a member of the Diasporan community.

EA: New Orleans is a vibrant example of the African Diaspora, and is often the foundation for the work that I do dealing with myth, history, folklore, and philosophy. 

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Contributed by: Zemen Kidane