The metalsmith David Clemons scrutinizes and mocks racialtypecasts in nine sublime pieces - mainly forged from silver andsteel - now at National Ornamental Metal Museum.
The 35-year old artist used the anti-lynching ballad 'StrangeFruit' as inspiration for the strange and alluring 'The Trees WeConstruct to Conceal Our Strange Fruit,' a foot-high silver teapotencased in a cage of steel branches. And he etched the song lyricsinto a set of silver cups for 'Palliative Measures (Julep Beakers).'
In both works, his craftsmanship is superb - the teapot iswrinkled, as fleshy and fluid as human tissue, while the lynchingnoose that pours out of one julep beaker is as delicate as a Tiffanynecklace.
The song, says Clemons, a Texas native who currently lives inLittle Rock, is 'something I grew up with.'
'Billie Holiday's version makes you want to cry,' he notes. 'NinaSimone's version makes you want to get up in arms.'
The juxtaposition between sorrow and anger pervades other pieces,including 'Remembrance Rosary,' a string of sterling silver rosarybeads, which exhorts viewers to 'Remember Now To Change/To ChangeNow Remember.'
'I sent out a request to friends to send me the most memorableremembrances of their life when they were identified as a blackperson,' says Clemons, who included those incidents in a handmadeleather book and inscribed the rosary with dates and phone numberscorresponding to each event.
Although a shot of humor guides 'Works Everytime,' a silverrendition of a crumpled paper bag that holds a quart bottle of Colt45 malt liquor, and 'Phat Grillz,' a brass mirror emblazoned with aportrait of a gold-toothed black figure, they're also infused withan underlying sadness, an understanding of cultural merchandising,and an indictment of Southern rap culture.
With these works, Clemons explores the similar ideas of Austin,Texas-based painter Michael Ray Charles. 'I worked with Michael RayCharles when I got my BFA from the University of Texas,' Clemonssays. 'I never had him for a class - he was more of a mentor for me.In one of the last conversations I had with him before I leftAustin, he asked me if I ever felt any obligation to address race oridentity. I started writing stuff down in my journal, and thoseideas began crystallizing in my work.'
'Most of this work comes from my own experience,' says Clemons.'I've always had to contend with the struggle of being black enough.Other kids made fun of me because of the way I spoke, because Ididn't listen to the music they did, or because I didn't play thesports they did. Friends would call me 'Bill Cosby black.' Butthere's a whole range of different kinds of black people in theworld.'
His 'Protecting the Piece' is a human-sized leather harnessattached to an elaborate, form-fitting silver protective cup. Thework addresses the perceived spectrum of black sexuality, fromvirile slave to nude model.
'I was doing some research when I came across advertisements forslaves where sexuality was used as a marketing tool - 'ensure thatyou have a strong slave stock.' You also had black men beinglynched, castrated and sexually defaced, because their sexuality wasassociated with a certain degree of fear. Later, black sexuality wascelebrated, but it's still used as a marketing tool,' says Clemons.
Clemons' artistic statement is amplified by the precious metalshe uses to construct his work.
'There's a certain allure that polished metal has,' he says. 'Ifyou make it beautiful, you can use it as a vehicle to discusssubjects that are daunting and harsh.'
Twelve works by Jeffrey Clancy, a Maine-based metalsmith, roundout the work in this show, called 'Tributaries III: Exterior/Ulterior.' Clancy's pieces, which deconstruct usable objects intopurely ornamental work, serve as an interesting foil for Clemons'super-charged oeuvre.
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Review
Tributaries III: Exterior/Ulterior
Works by David Clemons and Jeffrey Clancy at the NationalOrnamental Metal Museum through Aug. 24. Go to MetalMuseum.org
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