Afro-Surreal Synesthesia: Visualizing The Sound of Gilles Peterson

The best Disc Jockeys, like the best curators of visual art, sense the possibilities and limitations of the spaces they work in. Whether a DJ is broadcasting over the boundless expanses of net radio or spinning in an intimate club, he or she must always reconsider space so as to maintain the integrity of his or her curatorial vision.

DJs must also intuit the capricious emotional states of anonymous and often faceless audiences and tailor sounds to tell improvised stories. These stories are grounded in an ever-expanding oeuvre, but they are greatly affected by a DJ’s mood and the shifting energies of his or her audience. A DJ’s real skill becomes evident in the moment, the evanescent give and take with that dynamic array of bodies, hearts, and minds.

Using Gilles Peterson’s sound as inspiration, I have selected a series of two-dimensional works that extend the aesthetic parameters of his corpus. Viewing while listening to the featured selection of tracks will create a striking sense of synesthesia, or a redoubled, sensational duality.

As Peterson has done with his radio programs, recorded DJ mixes, live sets and record label, I have selected artists that imbue their work with a sense of history, but also with a nod towards the future. They evoke what cultural critic D Scot Miller, or before him activist, artist and scholar Amiri Baraka, might call the “Afro-Surreal.” These works are two-dimensional, but not flat. They are neither instrumentally Black, nor post-Black; rather they evidence strong Black Atlantic affiliations as a matter of course. They are not “about” the Black body per se; rather they often imagine leaving, distorting, or masking it.  They are creole; indebted to the materials and forms privileged by a white, Western canon, but imbued with a rejection of this canon’s primacy.

It’s important to note that although many of the artists Peterson works with are Black, he is not. Similarly, the artists I have chosen for this exhibition are Black, but I am not. Many audiences still have a very hard time understanding why white aficionados, curators or taste-makers harbor deep affections for Black art despite the fact that most of American popular culture is indebted to its aesthetic priorities: collage, syncopation, and call and response to name a few.

By reflecting Peterson’s sound in image, I embrace the inter-modal, collaborative ethos that nurtures my work. This ethos is predicated to a great degree on Afro-Diasporic aesthetics, but not exclusively. I am a product of American culture, and my work is creole, much like the Afro-Surrealist art featured here. I find joy and inspiration in the tensions that come with embracing this creolization.

For descriptions of individual pieces, see individual artist pages (links embedded below).

Richard Mayhew – Encounter (1975)
Oil on canvas
40″x40″

Noah Davis – Isis (2009)
Oil and acrylic on linen with rabbit skin glue
48″x48″

Andrew Moon Bain – Aqua Santa String Quintet (2009)
Acrylic and collage
36″x48″

Laylah Ali – Untitled (2004)
Gouache on paper
16 6/8″x10 2/8″

Richard Mayhew – Above and Beyond (2009)
Oil on canvas
48″x48″

Andrew Moon Bain – Courting Black Unicorns (2009)
Mixed media
36″x36″

David Huffman – Basketball Pyramid (2006)
Mixed media on canvas
60″x72″

Derrick Adams – Fantasy, Reality and Longing (Michael Jackson as Unicorn Boy) [2009]
Mixed media; mounted paper on wooden panel
40″x30″

David Huffman – Belly Button Window(2006)
Mixed media on canvas
72″x60″

Richard Mayhew – Transfiguration (1999)
Oil on canvas
40″x48″

Laylah Ali – Untitled (2004)
Gouache on paper
28 3/16″x20 1/16″

Andrew Moon Bain – Ghost Trees (2006)
Acrylic on canvas
4′x7′

David Huffman – Cosmic Watermelon Pyramid (2008)
Oil, acrylic and glitter on canvas
72″x60″

Laylah Ali – Untitled (2004)
Gouache on paper
10 3/8″x8 3/8″

Derrick Adams – The Root of it All (2010)
Digital photograph
36″x24″

Noah Davis – Man with Shotgun and Alien (2008)
Acrylic and oil on canvas
54″x42″x3″