Established in January 2020, Sub Rosa began as a digital journal dedicated to highlighting points of inspiration—a reflection of the systematic groundwork behind one’s practice. Within these pages, you’ll find the people, objects, moments, locations, and histories that have motivated me.
All views are my own.
Chronicles | January 2022
An Italian painter, a contemporary NYC photographer, Dallas's City Hall survey, and Valentine's Day playlist for January's 2022 chronicles.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
All images and links are directed to sources.
A R T
Domenico Gnoli illuminated objects in question and experienced their magic through painting
Fondazione Prada is a contemporary art museum co-chaired by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli. In Milian, the museum's exhibition Domenico Gnoli showcases the artist's work from 1949 to 1969. The Prada namesake museum has steered away from poignant references to fashion, but Gnoli's paintings create a merge between garment and painting.
Domenico Gnoli (Rome, 1933 – New York, 1970) had worked as an illustrator, and set designer, then turned to large-scale paintings.
From the article The Peculiar Perfectionism of Domenico Gnoliby by Emma Harper for Apollo Magazine:
"As Gnoli himself explained in an interview with JeanLuc Daval for Le Journal de Genève, 'My themes come from the world around me, familiar situations, everyday life; because I never actively mediate against the object, I experience the magic of its presence.' As opposed to Pop's celebration of consumer culture, his paintings illuminate the objects in question. And while they can border on abstraction – it's easy to become so engrossed in a stitch, a pattern, or even a colour that you almost forget what you're looking at – his paintings revere the mundane, which is charged with a life force just outside of view."
Robe verte, 1967, by Domenico Gnoli. Image source: AnOther | original credits: Private Collection courtesy of Luxembourg + Co © Domenico Gnoli, by SIAE 2021
Capigliatura femminile, Riga in mezzo n.1,1965, by Domenico Gnoli. Image Source: AnOther | original credits: Collezione Prada, Milano © Domenico Gnoli, by SIAE 2021
Fauteuil N° 2, 1967, by Domenico Gnoli. Image Source: AnOther | original credits: Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid © Domenico Gnoli, by SIAE 2021
Up and coming contemporary photographer Donavon Smallwood is one to watch
Donavon Smallwood’s series Languor. Image source: donavonsmallwood.com
Donavon Smallwood’s series Languor captures Black leisure at Central Park. For context, the word languor means the state of feeling, often pleasant, of tiredness or inertia. He took the images during the beginning of the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. The series was shot on black and white medium format film, lending a serine dream-like feeling. From January 21st to March 12th, 2022, images from Langour and a newer series, Beebe, will be displayed at The Print Center in Philadelphia.
Donavon Smallwood’s series Languor. Image source: donavonsmallwood.com
Exhibition statement from The Print Center:
A life-long resident of Harlem, Smallwood turned to the park as a refuge in the difficult days of lockdown and isolation due to COVID. However, it was not the bucolic landscape that drew his attention in the park, but the people within it – both neighbors and passersby. It was important to Smallwood for his sitters to feel comfortable – at home. “Its [“Languor’s”] subject is what it’s like to be a Black person in nature,” says Smallwood. Picturing Black people in this context references the history of Seneca Village, a 19th century Black community at the heart of what is now Central Park. “Languor” is influenced by that history as well as the artist’s own interest in the Romantic poet and artist William Blake, who is known for his transcendental works.
Smallwood will be doing a virtual artist talk presented by The Print Center on February 10th. Information is linked here.
Finding Donavon Smallwood’s work directed me to learn about Seneca Village. In an effort to commemorate the history, Central Park Conservancy has shared information on the Seneca Village community that was once a section of what is now Central Park linked here.
Both artworks mentioned can be purchased in book form!
“Domenico Gnoli” catalog available for purchase at Fondazione Prada. Image Source: Fondazione Prada.
Donavon Smallwood’s photography book Languor available for purchase at Trespasser. Image source: Trespasser.
L O C A L
Tell the city of Dallas what you really think
…about the city’s land-use policy! Here is a link to a survey conducted by City Hall where you can leave input on housing, parks, infrastructure, etc.
M U S I C
Get ready for Valentine’s Day with a love song playlist
Chronicles | January 2021
Starting off the new year with a look back into history. From the longest running photography atelier, the way fashion reflect social movements, and the Wilmington insurrection.
A R T
Kamoinge: a group of people working together
Established in NYC 1963, Kamoinge’s mission statement remains, “To HONOR, document, preserve, and represent the history and culture of the African Diaspora with integrity and respect for humanity through the lens of Black photographers.” The Whitney exhibition, Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop highlights the collective’s formative years. The show will run until March 28th, 2021 and the exhibition website is very interactive. You can view the installation, learn about the artists, listen to virtual guides, and virtual events are scheduled.
The group successfully formed a community and fostered knowledge to future generations, simultaneously developing their own concepts. It was interesting to learn what motivated the photographers to make work including the civil rights movement and jazz. For an example, here is a link to an audio recording explaining Ming Smith’s experimental portrait of Sun Ra in 1978.
Some of my favorite images from the collection are; James Mannas Jr.’s Peeping Seawall Beach Boy-Sea, Georgetown, Guyana, 1972, Daniel Dawson’s Backscape #1, 1967, and Herman Howard’s March on Washington, 1963.
Exhibition themes and logistics are discussed in this talk between assistant curator Carrie Springer and curatorial assistant Mia Matthias.
Dannielle Bowman, a Cooper Union & Yale Alumni Awarded 2020’s Aperture Portfolio Prize
Photographer Dannielle Bowman is 2020’s Aperture Portfolio Prize recipient for her series What Had Happened. The images document the lives of Black Americans while considering the context of the phrase “what had happened”.
Writer Marjon Carlos and Bowman discuss the series, her previous work, commissions, and her process. It was comforting when Bowman spoke of the ‘art school hangover’ and how she’s worked through it. They also briefly discuss Bowman’s involvement in Nikole Hannah-Jones’s 1619 Project which is a questioning and confrontation of America’s history.
F A S H I O N
Conceptual Fashion Pushing Boundaries of Wearability
I-D’s article Meeting the Young Designers Reimagining Fashion Silhouettes asks readers to consider how fashion reflects social movements. The following designers are interviewed.
Marco Ribeiro explores circles on his garments, eluding to unity and equality. His editorial photographs are also really compelling because of their colorful and environmental nature.
Sun Woo Chang’s structures are inspired by her experience of moving and the feeling of belonging or not belonging.
Chet Lo’s work has developed through experimentation resulting in a sort of spiky texture that reminds me of the bubble shirts of the early 2000s.
Terrence Zhou’s creates work pulling directly from his personal experience of existing. Aspects of his personality are manifested psychically through color and form.
L O C A L
Jeremiah Onifadé’s Merging of South Dallas and Nigeria
Jeremiah Onifadé’s show Surreal Figures opened at SITE131 on January 9th and will run until March 27th, 2021. Onifadé’s paintings consider the commonalities between the Kaduna Riots that he witnessed as a kid and America’s most recent protest. Art&Seek’s article Artist Jeremiah Onifadé’s Work Captures Life Between Two Worlds: South Dallas And Nigeria delves into his process of creating symbology within brightly depicted scenes. Onifadé’s previous work confront dualities between his childhood and adulthood as well like Blue Dot at a South Dallas house turned gallery for the occasion.
M O R E
America’s History of a Coup
TW: Violence & Racism
The attack on the capital January 6th, 2021, although disturbing to see, did not come as a surprise. After learning about the Wilmington insurrection of 1898, America’s only successful coup, and its similarities to what happened this month, I was motivated to share this history.
Published January 8th, 2021, Race and the Capitol Riot and American Story We’ve Heard Before is a conversation between NPR’s Audie Cornish and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, a professor of African American studies at Princeton. Wilmington’s Lie’ Author Traces the Rise of White Supremacy in A Southern City, also produced by NPR was released January 13th, 2020. It is a more in-depth discussion hosted by Dave Davies. The guest is author of Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup Of 1898 And The Rise Of White Supremacy and investigative reporter David Zucchino. Both podcasts address the history and lasting effects of the Wilmington insurrection.
Before 1898 Wilmington was a city that flourished with Black businesses, elected officials, police, newspapers, and so on. White supremacists couldn’t stand this, which lead to a plan to take over and deprive Black people ability to serve in an office or vote, etc. It was a strategic effort involving other cities, white media, propaganda, and militias like the Red Shirt militia, a terrorist group that threatened to kill Black citizens if they voted. The white supremacist succeeded, and their chosen elected officials took place. After they drove three Black aldermen from office at gunpoint, no black citizens served on the city council until 1972. The literacy test required to vote was placed into law after the stolen election and lasted until 1965. They burned down the Black establishments and murdered roughly 60 people leaving citizens to flee for their life. For perspective in 1898, the Black population of Wilmington was 56%, and today it is 18%.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
Chronicles | January 2020
Here we have my first published Chronicle. I began by researching some influential people who were born during this month and have also left us this month as a reminder for the remain constant in your efforts and personal history.
D E S I G N
Maison&Object’s Paris Art Fair was held January 17th - 22nd, the theme being regeneration. Two of my favorite concepts are as followed.Marking the 10th anniversary of the Brokis Muffin lights designed by Lucie Koldova and Dan Yeffet, the lamp now comes in options of mahogany, palisander, and marble. Tom Dixon’s series Swirl marries psychedelic patterns and Italian post-modernism.
“A family of candleholders, bookends, vases and tables, each with their own distinct silhouette, colouration and personality. Substantial in weight, smooth in texture and bold in pattern, Swirl will inject a fresh pop sensibility into any setting.”
L I T E R A T U R E
ArtReview is a contemporary art magazine with a long-standing history beginning in 1949. The January & February 2020 issue covers an array of topics. VALIE EXPORT is displayed on the cover where inside you’ll find a video piece of hers converted into written poetry. Topics of art and linguistics are considered throughout conversations with and about Thu Van Tran, Adrian Lahoud, and Lari Pittman. Yet, most intriguing to me is ArtReview’s columnist Carla Young’s reporting on, “a current trend of quoting landscape and ecology in runway shows, and wondering whether nature has become the ultimate luxury.”
“In 1967, she changed her name to VALIE EXPORT—written in uppercase letters, like an artistic logo—shedding her father’s and husband’s names and appropriating her new surname from a popular brand of cigarettes.”
L O C A L
Aroma
Society by Jackson Vaughn is a boutique shop in Dallas’s Bishop Arts District centered around handmade candles. I reacquainted myself with their range this month and found four particular aromas I was drawn towards. I picked up West Third Brand’s Eu de Toilette, Old Bourbon because of my bourbon bias. A mixture of sweet, citrus, woody, and warm notes are merged into a summer scent for those of us who enjoy wearing earthy fragrances year-round. Sydney Hale Co’s Woodsmoke + Amber comes in the form of a home fragrance and candle. The woodsmoke isn’t too overpowering because the amber balances it out softly. The two candles I enjoyed most are from Jackson Vaughn’s Proprietary Collection which is numbered 01 through 12. The description of warm ginger root and sun-dried hemp immediately caught my attention persuading me to pick up number 08 and smell. I found it to be beautiful and sunny but not in a citrus way. Finally, we have 01 which seemed most experimental in its conception by using eggplant, sandalwood, and basil. To my pleasure, this candles gives that feeling of spring without following conventional influences such as “clean linen” or “oceanside”.
P E O P L E
Kobe Bryant
In memory of Kobe Bryant’s vigor, dedication, and passion I’ve linked a poem he wrote titled Dear Basketball upon announcing his 2016 retirement.
John Baldessari
Although for whatever reason, I was never too keen on John Baldessari’s work, I respect him as an influential force in the development of conceptual art. Baldessari passed away January 2nd and I urge those that are both familiar and not to reflect on his work.
Aaliyah
Aaliyah is a timeless style and musical icon who we all tend to collectively celebrate ever so slightly more on her birthday, January 16th. This year she would have been 41. In a 2001 New York Times article, Kelefa Sanneh describes the power of listening to Aaliyah, “Where some divas insist on being the center of the song, she knew how to disappear into the music, how to match her voice to the baseline - it was sometimes difficult to tell one from the other.”
Sade
Sade’s birthday was also on January 16th. She’s someone I look towards when I question the value originality holds. “I only make records when I feel I have something to say. I’m not interested in releasing music just for the sake of selling something. Sade is not a brand.” - Sade.
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag, again born January 16th, was a prolific writer and philosopher. She was also a filmmaker and activist. Roughly seven years ago I read her essays On Photography and Regarding the Pain of Others. Reading her explain such complex ideas felt mind-bending but, eventually in a good way. I would recommend giving it a go.
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton celebrated her 74th birthday on the 19th. Parton’s philanthropy work shouldn’t be undermined, I aspire to achieve her ability to make things happen.
Martin Luther King Jr
January 15th marked what would’ve been Martin Luther King Jr’s 91st birthday. While I do appreciate the quotes, speeches, images, and writings we share on this specific day, I wanted to research something I haven’t learned before. In my findings, I read an article that a woman in Arizona unknowingly purchased a tape recording at a thrift store for $3 that was a rare speech of MLK’s recorded in 1964. It took place on Arizona State University grounds and the school has the recording now open and linked to the public here.