Published on the occasion of the exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, London, June 29 - September 18, 2022. Includes bibliographical references, filmography, discography, and index. Artists featured: Larry Achiampong, Jim Adams, Djeneba Aduayom, Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, John Akomfrah, David Alabo, Edgar Arceneaux, Marc Asekhame, Belkis Ay̤n, Radcliffe Bailey, Rapha͡l Barontini, Beddo, Sanford Biggers, Nuotama Bodomo, Nick Cave, Sedrick Chisom, Jacek Chyrosz, Coldefy, Raffaele Contigiani, Damon Davis, Cristina de Middel, Imani Dennison, Jeff Donaldson, Kimathi Donkor, Aaron Douglas, Edouard Duval-Carrǐ, Curtis Essel, Minnie Evans, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Ali Fao, Raymond Thomas Farah, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Heinz Fenchel, Ellen Gallagher, Rico Gatson, Ma̐mouna Guerresi, Prince Gyasi, Lauren Halsey, Allison Janae Hamilton, Thomas Heatherwick, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Kordae Jatafa Henry, David Huffman, Juliana Huxtable, Zas Ieluhee, Alex Jackson, Ayana V. Jackson, Fabiola Jean-Louis, Shintaro Kago, Ǩř Architecture, Black Kirby, Victoria Kovios, Wole Lagunju, Wifredo Lam, Jean Fraṅois Lamoureux, Thomas Leitersdorf, Namsa Leuba, Hew Locke, Michael MacGarry, Gerald Machona, Lo̐s Mailou Jones, Jean-Louis Marin, Markn, Kerry James Marshall, Moshel Mayer, Mohau Modisakeng, Puleng Mongale, Fabrice Monteiro, Ronald Moody, Kristin-Lee Moolman, Jean-Claude Moschetti, A̐da Muluneh, Wangechi Mutu, Gustavo Nazareno, Rashaad Newsome, Daniel Obasi, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Chris Ofili, Ruby Okoro, Rinaldo Olivieri, Yaounď Olu, Zohra Opoku, Tasha Orlova, Frida Orupabo, Gordon Parks, Jordan Peele, James Phillips, Naudline Pierre, Keith Piper, Robert Pruitt, Umar Rashid, Robert Reed, Tabita Rezaire, Stacey Robinson, Athi-Patra Ruga, Stanisław Rymaszewski, Alison Saar, Zina Saro-Wiwa, Ignace Sawadogo, Devan Shimoyama, Yinka Shonibare, Mary Sibande, Lorna Simpson, Cauleen Smith, Tavares Strachan, Mickalene Thomas, Bob Thompson, Wilfred Ukpong, David Uzochukwu, Lina Iris Viktor, William Villalongo, Hannsj̲rg Voth, Kara Walker, Gerald Williams, Kandis Williams, Peter Williams, Saya Woolfalk, Alisha B. Wormsley, Zaha Hadid Architects.
Contents:
Foreword / Ralph Rugoff, Hayward Gallery -- Introduction : the art of the Black fantastic -- Invocation : a summoning of spirits -- Extract A : old slavery seen through modern eyes : Octavia E. Butler's Kindred and Haile Gerima's Sankofa / Adriano Elia -- Black feminist voodoo aesthetics, conjure feminism, and the arts / Kameelah L. Martin -- Migration : journeys across sea and space -- Extract B : Afronauts : race in space / W. Ian Bourland -- In populated air : flying Africans, technology, and the future / Michelle D. Commander -- Liberation : dreams of freedom -- Extract C : Afrofutures : Africa and the aesthetics of Black revolution / Tobias Wofford.
Summary:
"A richly illustrated exploration of Black culture at its most wildly imaginative and artistically ambitious... assembles art and imagery from across the African diaspora. Embracing the mythic and the speculative, it recycles and reconfigures elements of fable, folklore, science fiction, spiritual traditions, ceremonial pageantry and the legacies of Afrofuturism. In works that span photography, painting, sculpture, cinema, graphic arts, music and architecture, [the book] shows how speculative fictions in Black art and culture are boldly reimagining perspectives on race, gender and identity. Standing apart from Western narratives of progress and modernity premised on the historical subjugation of people of color, it celebrates the ways that Black artists draw inspiration from African-originated myths, beliefs and knowledge systems, confounding the Western dichotomy between the real and unreal, the scientific and the supernatural. This lavishly illustrated volume brings together works by leading artists such as Kara Walker, Chris Ofili and Ellen Gallagher; explores groundbreaking films such as Daughters of the Dust and Get Out; considers the radical politics of pan-Africanism and postcolonialism; and much more. Each section includes an introductory text by Ekow Eshun and longer essays by Eshun, Kameelah L. Martin, and Michelle D. Commander."--Cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.