A series of exhibits at MoAD look at Michael Jackson through the lens of “mental colonialism,” an at the construction of narrative in Africa.
So many books have been written about Michael Jackson (more than 1,000), so many movies made (at least 250), and so many art exhibits produced (hundreds) that it seems almost impossible for anyone to create a unique take on the acclaimed “King of Pop.”
But along comes Todd Gray — Jackson’s first official photographer — and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), where Gray has analyzed Jackson from a perspective that’s utterly original and counterintuitive: the idea that Jackson lived his life under the shadow of “mental colonialism.” Jackson’s life, Gray argues, was loosely connected to the long history of physical colonialism that — like the other colonialism — has left a legacy that continues to throttle millions of people around the world.
Museum of the African Diaspora is pleased to present Todd Gray: My Life in the Bush with MJ and Iggy. Stemming from the archival images of Gray’s time as Michael Jackson’s personal photographer through the 1980s and his experience living and documenting rock & roll in Los Angeles, these works problematize images and demonstrate the ways in which we highlight and obfuscate black cultural roots in our collective social memory.
Gray’s practice is not only based on the creation of a photograph, but is also deeply invested in exposing the intentional choices inherent in the production of an image and how that might be a reflection of social conditions. Gray performs the implicit choices of inclusion and exclusion, by explicitly presenting his process in image making, using found local thrift store frames and collaging images upon faces. This exhibition seeks to question notions of image making, the act of viewing, and the complicated engagement between image and viewer.
“Todd Gray: My Life In the Bush With MJ and Iggy” is a very specific exhibition of art and will not please all.
For more information, CLICK HERE
SOURCE: sfweekly
