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Hannah Black

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Hannah Black
Born
Manchester, England
NationalityBritish
EducationWhitney Independent Study Program, New York, 2014
Goldsmiths, University of London, (MFA) 2013
Alma materUniversity of London
Known forFilm, video, art and writing
Notable workDark Pool Party
StyleMixed media artist
WebsiteVimeo accountTwitter account

Hannah Black is a British visual artist, critic, and writer. Her work spans video, text and performance.[1]

Early life

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Black was born in 1981 in Manchester, England. She is currently based in New York City, though she has previously been based in Berlin and London.[2] She studied at King's College, Cambridge, receiving a BA degree in English Literature in 2003, and publishing fiction in The May Anthologies 2003, edited by Ali Smith.[3] In 2013, Black received a Masters of Fine Arts in art writing from Goldsmiths College, University of London.[4]

Career

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After receiving her master's degree, Black lived in New York City from 2013-2014 where she was a studio participant in the Whitney Independent Study Program.[4] According to Hatty Nestor in Art in America, "Hannah Black's practice deals primarily with issues of global capitalism, feminist theory, the body and sociopolitical spaces of control."[5] She is represented by the London gallery Arcadia Missa.[6] During her time in New York, Black was a contributing editor to the New York-based magazine, The New Inquiry.[2] Two years later, her first collection of writing titled Dark Pool Party was published. The book consists of seven texts "that blur the lines of fiction, nonfiction, cultural criticism, critique, and poetry."[7]

In March 2017, Black posted an open letter on her Facebook page to the curators of the Whitney Biennial in response to the painting Open Casket by American artist Dana Schutz. Black's letter advocated the removal of the painting with the additional "urgent recommendation" that it be destroyed. Black's letter became the focus of the ensuing debate around race, representation and notions of free speech that "split the art world". The controversy received international attention in both mainstream and art media.[8]

In 2019, Black, Ciarán Finlayson, and Tobi Haslett released a statement in Artforum titled The Tear Gas Biennial, decrying the involvement of Warren Kanders, co-chair of the board of the Whitney Museum, and his "toxic philanthropy."[9] Although Kanders has donated an estimated $10 million to the museum, the source of his fortune is derived from Safariland LLC, a company that manufactures riot gear, tear gas, and other chemical weapons used by the police and the military to enforce violent order.[10] As of 1925, the Geneva Conventions have outlawed the use of tear gas in all international military conflicts, however, the tear gas fired at peaceful protesters and civilians by the police and military during the George Floyd protests as well as migrants on the US-Mexico border is the same brand of tear gas manufactured by Defense Technology, a subsidy of Safariland. A wave of artists from the Biennial, including Korakrit Arunanondchai, Meriem Bennani, Nicole Eisenman and Nicholas Galanin, demanded immediate removal of their work from the Biennial within hours after the essay was published. After mounting pressure from additional artists, critics, and patrons urging the public to boycott the show, Kanders stepped down from his leadership position at the museum. The essay was instrumental in Kanders resignation as well as the museum cutting ties with Kanders financial endowments that are directly connected to the promotion and use of military weaponry and violence during peaceful social unrest.

Partial exhibition history

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Hannah Black has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world including shows at Centre D’Art Contemporain in Geneva,[11] Performance Space New York,[12] Real Fine Arts,[13] Derosia[14] and the New Museum Theater[15] in New York, Chisenhale Gallery[16] and David Roberts Art Foundation, in London,[17] mumok in Vienna,[18] Arcadia Missa in Paris,[19] Celaya Brothers Gallery in Mexico City,[20] Sala Luis Miro Quesada Garland in Lima, Peru, Yarat Contemporary Art Centre, Baku, Azerbaijan,[21] Chateau Shatto in Los Angeles[22] and Transmission and David Dale Gallery in Glasgow. Black has had performances, screenings of her art and participated in talks at museums like MoMA PS1,[23] Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles,[24] Swiss Institute Contemporary Art, New York[25] and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London[26]

References

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  1. ^ "A night with The New Inquiry". The Kitchen. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
    - Eva Folks (June 26, 2014). "An interview with Hannah Black". AQNB. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Hurr, Hannah (May 2015). "Interview with Artist and Writer Hannah Black". Mask (16). Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  3. ^ Ali Smith (ed.), Mays 2003: The May Anthologies (Cambridge: Varsity Publishing, 2003), p.45-55.
  4. ^ a b "Contemporary Art Talks: Hannah Black". Goldsmith University. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  5. ^ Nestor, Hatty (January 27, 2016). "Hannah Black". Art in America. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  6. ^ "Hannah Black". Arcadia Missa. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  7. ^ "Dark Pool Party by Hannah Black". Entropy. May 20, 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
    - Michael Connor (February 24, 2016). "This is a dark pool party". Rhizome. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
    - "Dark Pool Party, Hannah Black, Dominica/Arcadia Missa". Motto. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  8. ^ Kennedy, Randy (March 21, 2017). "White Artist's Painting of Emmett Till at Whitney Biennial Draws Protests". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
    - Smith, Roberta (March 27, 2017). "Should Art That Infuriates Be Removed?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
    - Basciano, Oliver (March 21, 2017). "Whitney Biennial: Emmett Till casket painting by white artist sparks anger". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
    - Helmore, Edward (April 2, 2017). "The painting that has reopened wounds of American racism". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
    - Alex Greenberger (March 21, 2017). "'The Painting Must Go': Hannah Black Pens Open Letter to the Whitney About Controversial Biennial Work". ARTnews. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
    - Blay, Zeba (March 22, 2017). "When White People Profit Off Of Black Pain". HuffPost. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
    - Eckardt, Stephanie (March 22, 2017). ""The Painting Must Go": The Protests and Reactions to Dana Schutz's Painting of Emmett Till in the 2017 Whitney Biennial". W. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  9. ^ "How Protest Works Now: Understanding "The Tear Gas Biennial" and its Historic Effect". Momus. July 27, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  10. ^ Bishara, Hakim (June 9, 2020). "Warren Kanders, Former Whitney Museum Vice Chair, Vows to Exit Tear Gas Trade". Hyperallergic. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "Hannah Black, Bonaventure, Ebba Fransén Waldhör ANXIETINA". Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  12. ^ "Beginning, End, None". Performance Space New York. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  13. ^ "Precious Okoyomon and Hannah Black". Real Fine Arts. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  14. ^ "Hannah Black - Soc or Barb". Bodega. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  15. ^ "Screens Series: Hannah Black". New Museum. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  16. ^ "Hannah Black". Chisenhale Gallery. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  17. ^ "Exhibition: Curators' Series #9. Ways of Living. By Arcadia Missa (15 Apr – 23 Jul 2016)". David Roberts Art Foundation. November 13, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  18. ^ "Hannah Black". mumok. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  19. ^ "Paris Internationale 2016". Arcadia Missa. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  20. ^ "If you want to do something, forget this debt, and remember it later". Celaya Brothers Gallery. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  21. ^ "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". Artsy. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  22. ^ "Workland: the fence is a narrow place". Chateau Shatto. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  23. ^ Terence Trouillot (April 11, 2017). "Hannah Black Transcends the Dana Schutz Controversy With a Slow-Burn MoMA PS1 Performance". Artnet. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
    - "Hannah Black, OR LIFE OR". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
    - Alex Greenberger (July 1, 2020). "Role Play: At MoMA PS1, Hannah Black Alights as Artist and Heroine". ARTnews. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  24. ^ "SCREEN: Hannah Black". The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  25. ^ "Conversation | Apocalyptic Thinking with Hannah Black and Evan Calder Williams". Swiss Institute. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  26. ^ "ANXIETINA: A performance by Hannah Black and Bonaventure". Institute of Contemporary Arts. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
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