up with being a black creative , I went down to the museum to see the show . The large black and red wall text reading “ AFROFAN- TASTIC ” is the fi rst thing you see and the fi rst thing that is easy to interpret . The letters remind me of speech bubbles in graphic novels , in the way that they ’ re all capitalized and are in a minimalist font : the font that is used in graphic novels makes the text legible around images that are full of movement . There are sculpture , illustration , text , audio , and video works in the show , creating an interestingly diverse atmosphere .
The audio fi le is an eight-minute excerpt of a lecture by Sun Ra , accompanied by an abstract looping video . This immediately caught my attention . I ’ m interested in ways artists create sounds and display them in visual environments like galleries or museums . The abstract video on loop helps to create the kind of focus needed when listening to a lecture , and the visual also stays true to the Afrofuturist aesthetic . Hearing Sun Ra ’ s accent and the way he enunciates his words reminded me of the ways black people are discriminated against because of the language we use and the way it can dissatisfy white academics . This piece was a curatorial choice — Chambliss put together the audio / visual installation himself . It creates dimension and simultaneously honors history .
BrotherMan : Dictator of Discipline , by Dawud Anyabwile , Issue 3 pg . 17 , brush and ink , zip a tone
My favorite piece in the show is an illustration titled BrotherMan : Dictator of Discipline by Dawud Anyabwile . The piece is a drawing of what looks like a black and white page from a graphic novel ; it is displayed next to three similar works by Anyabwile . The style is very reminiscent of comic books from the Exhibition view of title and case . ’ 80s . There ’ s a speech bubble with the word “ BrotherMan ” written in an almost graffi - ti-type font , and an accompanying bubble that reads “ DICTATOR OF DISCIPLINE .” I ’ m really interested in images where “ violent ” language or symbols are placed within the power of black bodies . A black person calling themselves a dictator , to me , does not come across as unnerving — it ’ s empowering . As history teaches us , white people have always possessed this power over black people and people of color . My favorite example is the fi rst revolving gun , a gun that can shoot multiple rounds without being reloaded , which was invented by a white man just in time for the Mexican War in 1846 and the Civil War in 1861 . Legislations like the 1911 Sullivan Act and the 1967 Mulford Act were passed to keep black people from owning guns . The Mulford Act is especially interesting because it came into play after the rise of the Black Panther Party . Seeing Anyabwile ’ s artistic image of a black person in power is very important .
Afrofuturism is black-centric , black-centric imagery is power , and that could be seen as violent , but this violence should not be confused with the same violence that has been used against black bodies .
Photos by Mariana Mora
AfroFantastic will be on display through April 2 , 2017 at the
Cornell Fine Arts Museum located at 1000 Holt Ave ., Winter Park , FL 32789
You can see more at : �ollins . edu�cornell�fine�arts�museum
Orlando Arts & Culture , v . 2.2
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