One of the great things about having a collection of over 17,000 objects is the ability to pull relevant works from that collection as needed. Curator Shawnya Harris did just that to put together the exhibition “Call and Response,” which serves as a visual response to the exhibition “Carrie Mae Weems: The Usual Suspects,” on view in the adjoining gallery.
Like Weems’ photography show, “Call and Response” invites the viewer to interrogate myths and stereotypes about Black identity while acknowledging the common humanity that unites us.
Highlights include Sheila Pree Bright’s “Donovan,” a photograph from her Young American Series that shows a young Black man wearing a rainbow bracelet and with the American flag draped over his shoulders. William Bradley Taylor’s small steel sculpture “After Daycare” shows an exhausted working mother and her two young children riding the bus home after a long day. And Lorna Simpson’s “III” [three] confronts viewers with their notions about race, gender, culture, and identity through three mixed-media wishbones—one semi-translucent rubber, one black metal, and one cream-colored clay—challenging viewers to consider what they might wish for. While the white clay wishbone is designed to be easily broken, the other two resist breaking and delay the chance to make a wish. “Call and Response” is on view through August 7.
