THE ART
FUTURES FOR THE REST OF US
On view May 4 - 31. 2018, by appointment
Blockfort Columbus
162 N. 6th Street, Columbus OH 43215
614 887 7162
Click images to see artwork in its entireity.
All work available for purchase, shipping is additional and by arrangement.
Purchase inquiries: info@blockfortcolumbus.com
Adam Hernandez
The Scouts (2018)
Acrylic on canvas
[48 in. x 48 in. x 3/8 in., unframed]
$1,500.00
My work exists in a world called the Land of Thunderbirds. A mythical universe where the rules and constructs of our modern civilization have no prevalence. In this mythology, the Godmask is an object that provides power to those who possess it, not too dissimilar from a wizard's staff. When creating this piece, I asked myself, how would someone in a post-apocalyptic future channel the power of an ancient relic with what remains?
The woman in this painting takes a football helmet and paints it to resemble a Godmask. In doing so, she channels that ancient magic. She also harnesses a Thunderbird drone and heads out into her world to defend, hunt, and survive.
This piece is a homage to the power and resourcefulness of women. Throughout history, women have held our ground. Women have built our bridges and fed our children. It's easy to imagine that in our future, women will take up arms with whatever is salvageable to defend our existence and keep mythology alive.
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Amy Leibrand
Catalyst (2018)
Photo composite
[24 in. x 36 in., framed]
$385.00
The infant mortality rate in the U.S. is more than twice as high in African American infants than in white infants (even greater – and on the rise – in Franklin County). Along with disparities in care access and socioeconomic inequality, poor outcomes are vastly aggravated by institutional racism and unconscious bias. Research shows that the physiologic wear and tear from a lifetime of racism stress negatively impacts maternal health, even in studies that strictly control for differences in socioeconomic status.1,2 These impacts contribute to low birthweight and premature delivery, factors in infant mortality. 3,4
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming health care by enabling data-driven decision-making. But, AI is only as good as the data used to train AI to “learn.” Often, this data is riddled with racial and gender bias.5 Data scientists must be mindful to use training data that represents the concerns of minorities. Doing so will facilitate AI-informed benchmarks for care that are appropriate for diverse populations. Catalyst speaks to the hope that AI will analytically reduce decision bias and better inform providers about the broader individualistic needs of pregnant women.
Amy Leibrand is a research scientist by profession. She is part of team developing an AI-driven tool for health care quality measurement in Medicaid populations. For information on reproductive justice for women of color in Central Ohio, visit www.roott.org.
1 Dominguez, TP et al. Health Psychol. 2008;27(2):194-203.
2 Mutambudzi, M. Ethn Health. 2017;22(3):311-332.
3 Christian, LM. Psychosom Med. 2013;75(7):658-69.
4 Hilmert, CJ et al. Psychosom Med. 2008;70(1):57-64.
5 Heller, C et al. Contemp Clin Trials. 2014;39(2):169-82.
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Go Back and Get It (2018)
April Sunami
Oil, acrylic, paper, glass on wood
23.75 in. x 1 in. <> 15 in. x 1 in. <> 12 in. x .75 in. <> 5 in. x 3/8 in. <> 3 in. x .25 in <> 1.25 in x .25 in
$3,900.00 (Entire work)
Individual pieces available for purchase:
Present Self [23.75 in. x 1 in. ] $750
Contemplating Future [15 in. x 1 in.] $600
Loyalty and Royalty [15 in. x 1 in.] $700
No Struggle No Progress [15 in. x 1 in.] $550
Forward I [12 in. x 3/4 in.] $400
Forward II [12 in. x 3/4 in.] $400
Being [12 in. x 3/4 in.] $400
Eye I, Eye II, Eye III [5 in. x 3/8 in.] $80
Sankofa (x3) [3 in. x 1/4 in.] $15
Part of the Whole (x3) NFS
These paintings represent my interest in history as a key to understanding the future. The two pieces representing the past are connected to my personal history utilizing images of the warrior women of Dahomey and the United States civil rights struggle of the 60's. Drawing upon the concept of Sankofa I present a vision of an ideal future in addition to honoring the present. Sankofa is both a symbol and expression in the Akan and Asante cultures which literally translates to “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what is at risk of being left behind."
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Billy Colbert
Digital video, TRT = 6m 35s
To view entire video, contact gallery.
$800.00 (From a limited edition of 10)
The video expresses the slow development of ever-changing, maniacal and brutal strategies that have kept African Americans in dissimilitude from the proper side of American history and have hindered our development to be seen as equals. The film speaks to the fact that the future has been written in the past. Our future depends on how well the 'Kits for Control' have been implemented by the generations to come. The automated language used in the film is from the text of the Willie Lynch Letter that was allegedly read to slave owners on the banks of the James River in Virginia in 1712. The letter states that if the kits were installed properly they would last for at least 300 hundred years.
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Cassidy Rae Marietta
BECAUSE LOVE (2018)
2D Mixed Media, Pen + Micron w/Colored Pencil, Marker, and Acrylic on Mixed Media Strathmore
[18 in. x 24 in., framed]
$900.00
The human body is a truth of our existence. It supports us and carries us through life. It is beautiful and organic, and the only physical vessel that we have. It should not be confined to idealism, censorship or judgment.
The societal bias and unwarranted censorship is an artifact of the past...
BECAUSE LOVE illustrates a dialog of human acceptance, body positivity, and self-love--declaring that we are all our own superhero in defiance of any restraint.
Celeste Malvar-Stewart
ID (2018)
Wool from U.S. Farms, silk gauze, silk fabric scraps, cotton yarn remnants, plastic bag waste from a local business, water-based printing paint
$650.00
$800.00 (custom eco-dyed)
It is 2068 and you are still on Earth. But it is a different kind of world, where you allow technology to predetermine many aspects of your life. You attend a party and look around a crowded room; who do you approach for conversation? You refer to your mobile device to scan audible images on garments. It suggests that you may be attracted to one individual. She wears a plastic coat and shares a single statement, and you listen to that statement. Then, you decide to introduce yourself.
This garment "ID" reflects the idea that In the future, our garments will allow us to control how and when we express our unique identities through the lens of information technology. This in turn will revolutionize information transfer in social settings, in the hopes that it will encourage and facilitate more meaningful communication.
"ID" also addresses the fact that future garments for "the rest of us" will have to be created from pre-existing and most likely waste materials because of our depletion of natural resources, and because of the extreme amount of waste generated today in the fashion and textile industry. This piece is created using scrap materials, and salvaged non-biodegradable plastic from a local business that would otherwise have been thrown in landfill, polluting our environment for decades if not centuries. On the inner garment, the hand-felted natural wool is from U.S. fibre farms and represents the importance of continued use of renewable natural resources that support and sustain our communities.
This is a simple glimpse into the possible intersection between fashion and technology. I am currently collaborating with Christopher Stewart (a Computer Scientist Professor at OSU) on developing a more complex interactive tool to implement this concept of "ID".
To glimpse the beginning of this futuristic link between garment and technology, go to: https://goo.gl/6ibS9o
+ZERO WASTE DESIGN and PRODUCTION+
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Celia C. Peters
DESTINY (2018)
Digital collage, gel media, sparkle, gemstone fragments/dust, on ultra mount
[24 in. x 36 in. x 1/4 in., unframed]
$1,200.00
With increasing intensity, as we move deeper into the 21st century, Black people in America have been under attack: physically, spiritually, politically, economically, socially, creatively. If history has taught us anything, however, it is that the children of the African Diaspora are uniquely resilient. This is indisputable. America has certainly subjected us to every kind of violence imaginable, yet we not only survive but on the whole, we perpetually thrive. This is our nature --- and indeed, the essence of the human spirit. Science tells us that humanity’s origins are on the continent of Africa. The hostility, denigration, diabolical brutality and barbarism that Black people have persistently experienced as a group in America are wholly at odds with such an astounding lineage. DESTINY is my metaphorical snapshot of the African Diaspora’s future: Black people truly understanding that we are beautiful, powerful and free…..unencumbered in the Cosmos, the place whence everything comes. Sooner rather than later, Black people will free ourselves of America’s dastardly narrative about who we are; the process is already underway. I see a future where we are recognizing, embracing, rushing toward our true destiny, one that is intimately tied to the Divinity within. DESTINY is a an astral projection from the future: a realization that existence is timeless; an understanding by Black people that we are the origin of the Universe’s expression in human form; and sublime, conscious movement toward what lies Beyond.
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Helma Groot
Rising Waters (2018)
Helma Groot
[48 in. x 16 in. x 25 in.]
$2,000.00
For my mobile, I focused on floods of the future, and the impact on the least advantaged people. I chose this version of the future because climate change and rising sea levels have me very concerned. My native country is the Netherlands, which will be heavily affected by both. I also lived in Indonesia for many years as a youth, and every year the monsoon floods would sweep away the shacks and belongings of the poorest people of the shanty town close to our house. Sadly, this will only be getting worse.
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Jennifer Bender
History Repeating (2018)
Photo composite
[12 in. x 24 in. x 7/8 in., mounted on metal and wood]
$550.00
Seventeen images were searched out and assembled here to illustrate a story in my head. You want to know what it is, don’t you? By all means, you tell me! Oh, I certainly have one brewing, and may write it yet, but your story is far more important. Because in every small morsel of Sci-Fi pulp lies a seed of potential for our future; a kernel of creativity that says if we can imagine it, we can also make it so; good and bad. It's not so fantastic when you realize we're already living that truth. With the dynamically perilous state of our world these days, I think we all need to take a moment to conjure the fantastic. It might just require a collective think outside-the-box to save this world from ourselves. So here's a nudge... Your story begins with three diverse and highly skilled Earth Mothers, called to the mouth of the Svalbard "Doomsday" Seed Vault in a now arid Norway, where a vast amount of spoiling genetic information is resting in the belly of a mountain, on a planet that can no longer support such diversity. It has happened many times before, but this is the moment where destiny and fate always seem to collide.
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John Ira Jennings
Mother Matrix (2018)
Illustration, digital media
[26 in. x38 in. x 3/4 in., framed]
SOLD
To me the notion of a Black Future is still a very tenuous yet radical idea. I try to make work that deals with the “dark past” and its enduring reconciliations. However, Black Joy is also just as political and just as radical. Our struggles should always be tempered by taking the time to celebrate our lives, our culture, and our ancestral beginnings. Mother Matrix takes all of these ideas and illustrates the multi-dimensional nature of blackness in America. We have to be conscious of the past, the present, and the future in order to get to the “Afrofuture.” That future should be inclusive, creative, powerful, and joyous. But, we can never forget where we came from and what our forebears have had to sacrifice. The Mother Matrix is all of our ancestral mamas and her wisdom should inspire us to keep fighting for the future.
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Kate Morgan
United (2018)
Collage, Ink, Colored Pencil, Watercolor & Gold Leaf on Board
[37 in. x 61 in. x 2 3/4 in., framed]
$4,250.00
My depiction of the future requires unity to have one. We can have our individual positions on things, but we MUST work together for the greater picture to succeed. For US to succeed. The “every-man”, we are not so different - we all require/desire a harmony of living. Ego cannot exist in the future. Together we must stand side by side & see each other eye to eye. We are all one people. The few WILL NEVER outweigh the many.
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Lisa McLymont
Calypso's Island (2018)
Media: acrylic, watercolor pencil, neocolor pastel, love and daydreams on birch panel
[20 in. x 28 in. x 2 in., framed]
$1,500.00
Calypso sings a song that lures travelers to her hidden isle. Her expression of wonder and innocence helps to entice while building false comfort & trust. Behind her, part of her, is a gauzy digital shroud overlaying a beautiful getaway. Travelers learn that this island conceals time and loses them in a sea of digital stimulation. Paradise for some...
This is real life now, and could be reality for every future human. Today, many of us desire escape from digital technology, but feel trapped due to all the life content we’ve collected. Whether we are holding on to past memories or daydreaming of hopes being realized at some future time in our lives, we are lost in our digital media, ultimately separated on islands with mental expanses like oceans in between. Is this future life? Maybe.
Calypso told me her name in the third session, and that name sent me on a quick google search, to connect the dots and understand the lesson Calypso is giving me/us. Ultimately, the lesson is to stay aware of the maze of unintentional deceit we are drawn into through use of our media screens.
This piece is inspired by Homer’s Iliad, calypso music, This Mortal Coil’s rendition of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren, futuristic culture stimulated by our non-digital past history, the chakras, water, light and love. All elements that I hope the future can experience and use to create.
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Rafael Rosado
Boricuas at the Space Station (2018)
Pencil/digital (Photoshop)
[20.25 in. x 28 in. x 3/4 in., framed]
$225 (From a limited series)
In the future I envision most countries will have their own space program, and the sovereign nation of Puerto Rico will have have its own space station in orbit. The piece presents a typical day in the life of the Puertorrican Astronaut.The space suits proudly display the Puertorrican flag, as do their jumpsuits. It’s in the Puertorrican character to turn any occasion into a party, and Astronauts are no exception. Zero gravity doesn’t stop them from enjoying some rum and plantain chips. One of them wears a Vejigante mask, the other a traditional Pava hat. A Guiro floats around the observation deck, as does an Artisinal wood carving of the Three Kings, and a plaque of the Virgin Mary.
Nothing out of the ordinary here!
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Sherleelah Jones
Posterior Myth (2018)
Watercolor/Mixed Media
[25 in. x 25 in. x 1.4 in., framed]
$1,500.00
In time, we will renew our relationship with our inner nature through repairing our relationship with the elements. We will relearn the grace of true expression and symbiotic communication. The result will be the ability to fearlessly create our own narrative.
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Stephanie Rond
My Beautiful Child (2018)
Stephanie Rond & Chuck Shackelford
Spray paint, acrylic on canvas
[round: 36 in. diameter, unframed]
$2,000.00
My beautiful child...
What will you become?
Who will you love?
What will you know?
Where will you go?
What will you hate?
What will make you smile?
Who will you love?
Who will love you?
What will break your heart?
What will restore you?
Will you know bravery?
Who will your allies be?
Will you keep your beautiful laugh?
Will you retain those shiny eyes?
Will you ever need for anything?
Will you have hope?
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Yusuf Dubois-Davis Abdul-Lateef
Re:Engagement Therapy - “Simple Communication Methods for the Eradication of Implicit Bias ” (SCM) (2018)
Table, Chair, Paper, Graphite, photograph
[12 in. x 18 in. x .25 in and 8 in. x 9.5 in. x .25 in., unframed; table 21.5 in x 21.5 in. x 18 in]
$500.00 (Re: Engagement facilitation fee)
Message from the Future-
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Due to a breakdown in everyday direct human interaction, we have lost the ability to empathise and communicate basic needs. Indirect modes of conveying information have lead to widespread distrust and human to human interaction has become almost obsolete. A group of Social Architects have devised a method to assist the public in re engaging with one another. Their mission here in the present is focused on rebuilding communities through the establishment of safe activities and spaces for honest dialogue.
Interactive Performance / Installation
Please - NO TALKING
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Sit at unoccupied seat
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Hold hands for 5 seconds
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Draw the portrait of the seated individual across from you without looking at your paper and without lifting your drawing utensil.
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Once finished, Place drawings in box
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Ring Bell
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To repeat process start at # 2
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