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    Part 1

In the writings from Kimberly Drew and Dr. Maura Riley, they both talk about the acts of sexism, Curatorial Activism, and other issues stated in the readings. The main problem that was talked about in both of the readings is Curatorial Activism. In the book "Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating" the phrase "Curatorial Activism" is defined as organizing art exhibitions with the principle aim of ensuring that certain constituencies of artists are no longer ghettoized or excluded from the master narratives of art. What this means is to basically give people a voice and to make them stand out because they are silenced which are many women artists, artists of color, and non-Euro-Americans. In Kimberly Drew's book, she talks about how she doesn't see a lot of black artists in museums all she sees are white male artists. So what she does to start attracting the attention of more black artists is taking advantage of her social media and working inside many private galleries.

When Drew finds this man named Jean Michael Basquiat and calls him the "Black Warhol" (Kimberly Drew, 18). When she discovers Jean she then asks herself why she hasn't seen any of his work before but she clearly knows Andy Warhol and his artwork. She then corrects herself and says " Jean Michael  Basquiat is absolutely not "the Black Warhol" as I naively thought- nor are there black versions of non-black artists. He was an artist in his own lane." (Kimberly Drew,19). Drew expresses her feelings about these situations in her book, she talks and explains how black artists deserve more attention the others and also asks other people how they feel about the situation. She also asks herself what museums do and why they only show the work that they show and not any other forms of art.

Authors, Historians, and Curators can all be activists because they all have a voice and they are all in a field where they experience how artists of color do not get as much attention as the other artists. So what they can do is they can ask questions as to why they don't show as many artists of color work and can research and explore for themselves the type of artwork other artists make especially the artists of color because their work is not displayed in museums for people to see. A quote that really stuck out to me by Kimberly Drew was when she said "I did not want Black art to be a negligible factor. I did not want Black art to be exterminated. I saw it happening in my art history classes, and I just had to do something to build a history online." This quote stood out to me because I had an art history class as well and I barely saw Black art, and you can even ask kids and other students who take art classes how often they see Black art and I guarantee you that they barely see it and barely know any Black artists.

    Part 2

Visiting The Universe of  Ben Jones exhibit inside of NJCU literally blew my mind, I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen this exhibit after all my life that I had lived in Jersey City. Ben Jones expresses his feelings and shows the experiences that he witnessed through his artwork ranging from the 70s to recent times. All of his work showcases and honors Black Culture, Black Men and Women, Black Traditions, and many more. 

While taking the tour with Ben Jones and him explaining each of his pieces some really hit home and stuck out to me because they just seemed so powerful. The main one that stuck out to me the most was the artwork that showed Huey Newton Incarcerated. The reason why this stuck out to me the most was because I knew that he was a part of the Black Panthers and how much of an impact they had on the Black community and all of the hardships that they had to face just because black men were trying to better their community. And to find out that Ben Jones was part of the Jersey City chapter of the Black Panther Movement just shows me how strong of a man he is because of all of the challenges that he had to go through, especially during this time heavy with racism. This goes back to Kimberly Drew's book when she talks about the lack of diversity in museums and encourages people to learn about old and new black artists I can say that Ben Jones definitely plays a part in this by showcasing the importance and significance of black artists by honoring them in his artwork.

Huey Newton Incarcerated (1970)

Untitled (1980)

As you can see by the second artwork by Ben Jones he uses vibrant colors that symbolize honor and also showcase how black people can be any color and all types of colors so he is not only honoring dark colored people but all colors. This brings me back to one of our readings that reminded me of how Steve Duncombe and Steve Lambert describe in their book "The Art of Activism, Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible", when they said, “Artistic activism is more than just an innovative tactic, it is an entire approach: a perspective, a practice, a philosophy” (Duncombe, Lambert, 12-13 ). What Jones did with his artwork was he used his experiences and input them into his work to showcase the events that were taking place during that time. Ben Jone's piece above Untitled 1980 is an important piece to me because it shows how details matter and in the artwork, there are little details that stand out and create the entire piece and what gives it life and feeling. For example, he has the words "It's In The World" across the chest which states how colored people are all over the world and a part of it. The Hershey's special dark wrapper underneath it symbolizes how no matter how dark someone is they are still special in their own way and are capable of doing something great in this world. The zipper hearts with more little hearts going inside of the big heart show how we need to love each other and not have hatred towards each other.

Ben Jones is indeed a great artist who showcases great artwork from his personal life experiences and has a great kind and loving soul. He is a great example of an artist who needs to be talked about more and I respect him as a person and the work that he is showcasing to other people. He definitely deserves his flowers while he is still here.

Jordan Chapman    

Citations

• Drew, Kimberly. This Is What I Know About Art. Penguin Workshop, 2020.
• Duncombe, Steve, and Steve Lambert. The Art Of Activism Your All-Purpose Guide to Making The Impossible Possible. London : OR Books, 2021. 
• Jones, Ben. Huey Newton Incarcerated. 1970, Harold B Lemmerman Gallery, Jersey City, NJ.
• Jones, Ben. Untitled. 1980, Harold B Lemmerman Gallery, Jersey City, NJ.