Monday, January 26, 2009

change done come...

O how things have changed. the obvious change is that it’s a new year and i am back assistin' “The Shit”. after my hiatus spent visiting family and traveling i return to what is now called Red|Creative (formerly known as Diamond Lounge Creative) and the new home to Fahamu Pecou Art. the new office is undoubtedly the shit, donning the new company colors; red white and black. in other news Fahamu, along with millions of other Americans, made his way to DC for the presidential inauguration and to show support for Barack Obama. the colors of the day… red, white, blue and black!

while i can’t really say what Barack will be up to over the next four years or where his diplomatic endeavors will take him… i’ve do have the scoop on “The Shit”! everyone wants to know about Fahamu Pecou and what he's up to. the agenda starts this Wednesday with Fahamu lecturing as the first "Paul R. Jones Scholar" at the University of Alabama.by this time next month he hits Capetown South Africa (without his assistant no less!) for the Feburary 25th opening of “Coming From Where Im From” at The Bell-Roberts Contemporary Art Gallery. next March kicks off with a lecture at Savanah College of Art and Design Atlanta Campus on the 3rd and two days later we head to the Big Apple for Pulse NY from March 5th to the 8th where Fahamu's work will be presented by Lyons Wier Ortt Gallery . on the 17th he will present his lecture "Behind The Canvas" at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth .

with January gone, and February and March filled with exciting events for Fahamu Pecou and his Assistant, April and May are rightfully mine. late April i exhibit my senior art show and step out as a bona fide emerging artist and in May i graduate. whooo! lets see what transpires until then!

Friday, November 7, 2008

a week of firsts...

the beginning of this week saw for the first time in history the election of an African American as the President of The United States. who could not help but to be swept up in this profound moment in world history? i know i couldn't. i spent election night at the home of Fahamu Pecou, who is not only "The Shit!" but who is now campaigning to become "The Official Portrait Painter of the White House!" imagine that... (hmn... maybe i'd start getting paid if that happens! LOL).

i have to say that for all that has transpired, part of me is still in disbelief. perhaps hearing the inaugural speech, standing in D.C. in a mass of people watching with my own eyes will change all that.

my second first came when i picked up my older sister from the airport. i was finally able to meet Olivia, my two month old niece. in honor of their visit as well as that of Jabu Mtheku, a friend of Fahamu's in town from Durban South Africa, i hosted everyone at my house for dinner. Fahamu's son, Ngozi, only a week older than Olivia, attended along with his wife and daughter.



on thursday i attend my first art auction hosted by the Hambidge Artist Residency Program. one of the oldest artist residency programs in Georgia, their 13th Annual Art Auction was abuzz
with collectors, emerging and established artists, gallerists, curators among others. i was introduced to Marianne Lambert, independent curator and maven of Atlanta's art scene. Whitney Stansell, visual artist, who was profiled along with "The Shit!" in The Atlantan's June issue as artists to watch. i was also formerly introduced to Lynn Marshall Linnemeier who'd i had actually spoke to earlier at Spelman College without realizing that not only was she a professor at Spelman College but a well-known Atlanta artist. as the Hambidge catalogue promised the night was filled with big names and new discoveries.

Monday, October 20, 2008

hi, my name is Racheal and i am officially "Assistant to The Shit!" <- that exclamation point... yeah, its part of my title. i think its safe to assume that a title like that would beg one of, if not all of the questions A.what does that mean? B.who pray tell is the shit? C.why does he need an assistant? the easiest answer to all these questions being- Fahamu Pecou is "The Shit!" (circa 2002). Want to see how it all came to be? Peep the video below, Instant Celebrity: Rise of an Urban Legend



since becoming "Assistant to The Shit!" my tiny scope of the art world has been transformed into an everyday submersion in, well ART!...so this past weekend my experience was elevated to a whole new level when i had the opportunity of joining Fahamu for the opening of his show "Stunt'd Like My Daddy" in Dallas Texas. and true to form i was yet again plunged into the art world. at 9:55 am on Friday October 17th we boarded the plane for Dallas and within a few hours i'd met Nancy Whitenack- Owner and Director of Conduit Gallery, Danette Dufilho- Assistant Director of Conduit Gallery, Franco Mondini~Ruiz- artist as well as his fabulous entourage, Allison V. Smith- Photographer, and Bill Bounds- recognized by his signature glasses and BIG personality. as we sat for lunch Bill reminisced on his Ty Stokes days when he resided in the building just across from Fahamu's studio. after lunch it was clear that Bill, a byo2b'sofwine kinda guy would provide no less than an assortment of comedy, culture, and class along with his wonderful wife SueSue as our official hosts in Dallas.

Allison was there to take pictures of Fahamu. Nice. so naturally i asked if i could watch, hoping she wouldn't feel bothered by the novice photographer asking to peer over her shoulder... but not only did she let me watch, she let me help. as i held the reflector beginning to understand the secret of great lighting i watched her constant movement, adding diversity to her shots and her constant attention of how to improve each shot, whether by changing the lighting, angle or proximity to her subject- who didn't need much direction at all. summoning up all his usual bravado reserved for photo shoots, "The Shit!" let loose, connecting with the camera and striking poses like a professional. the icing on the cake? when Allison asked me to shoot a few of her, Fahamu, and Danette who would later join in.

peep these photos that can be found on Allison's Blog SUPERFICALsnapshots...






after a quick interview with the Austin-based, online magazine Fluent~Collaboration we were off. we arrived at the Bounds' very Modern home and were given the official tour- sans wine. being that they are huge patrons and collectors of the arts their home was a literal gallery, displaying a collection of art acquired over the years that included drawings, prints, graphic art, paintings, and photography by artists like; Scott Ingram, Ted Kincaid, Tom Moore, Lawrence Lee and Clyde Connell... to name a few.

saturday...

after a night of drink and dance at O'Bar with some very cool friends of Fahamu, we woke early and headed to tour a few important art landmarks in Dallas. our first stop was North Park Mall. you might wonder why we went to the mall to see art work but the good people of Dallas have managed to incorporate a wide array of art in the schematics of their public spaces thanks to visionaries like Raymond and Patsy Nasher who had the foresight to construct North Park Mall around their amazing sculpture collection. after a bit of shopping we headed to the Barry Whistler Gallery where none other than the awesome Allison V. Smith was being exhibited in a show entitled Hall Pass. the Whistler established in 1985 remains one of the longest running galleries in Dallas. so we sat for a short while and talked with Barry who indulged my request to see more of Lawrence Lee's work.

my favorite stop of the day had to be the Nasher Sculpture Center. there is nothing more mind blowing than seeing the art you've just been studying in your text book... in person, and then to know that before it was in the museum, it was sitting on someones dining room table. the personal collection of Raymond and Patsy Nasher was on display and included works from artists like Picasso, Brancusi , Matisse, Warhol, Maillol, and Gauguin just to name a few. it was pretty awesome. after the Nasher we hit up the Dallas Museum of Art for a quick hour of art from all over the world.



the opening...

although the show started at 5, "The Shit!" insisted on arriving fashionably late, and fashionable we were. donning a tailored Marc Jacobs checkered vest and pant suit complete with ascot it was easy to overlook how late we were. we mixed and mingled meeting students, collectors, artists, and fans, posing for photographs and being asked to discuss the work. i also had a chance to meet Paul Winker, Fahamu's self proclaimed biggest fan. traveling from Arkansas for the show, he brought a group of friends from Dallas and Fort Worth. afterward, Fahamu said he had some of the best conversation with Paul and his friends, in particular about the work of Kara Walker who was showing at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

after the show everyone headed to Danette's house for a post show dinner gathering. her house was a total reflection of her awesome vintage-funk style- bold colored rooms, with off the cuff art and touches of humor everywhere, like the tiny framed picture of a sesame street character in the bathroom. a vintage record player served as dj spinning out crazy mixes while Danette kept our bellies full with some bomb-ass spicy chicken tamales. yum.

sunday mornin'

alas it was about that time. after a small breakfast at the Bounds', one last convo about art from Bill's collection of stories, and a quick photo shoot in front of the "Family Portrait" we were off. in the car as i talked to SueSue about the airports of Dallas i tried to take everything in;-the air, the vast flatness of Texas, the bits of history i would learn from SueSue about families that owned obscene amounts of land, the amazing weekend i just experienced. we arrived at the airport and boarded the plane right away and before i knew it i was home again.

back to the monday mernin grind...

i arrived at Diamond Lounge Creative, glancing across the street at the Ty Stokes building, as i always do, only this time with a renewed sense of familiarity. for it was there at Ty Stokes Gallery, thanks Bill's foresight, that Fahamu got his start.