Black Life Presents: Mandy Harris Williams
A critical pop performance coming to your screens on September 17
What is the “Pop Artist’s” role? The Pop Artist works to represent, construct and deconstruct popular images. This work is inherently critical, if not, most popularly, lite hearted, cheeky. Andy Warhol's persona stood in contrast to the easy commercial design of his Campbell's cans, or Hollywood glamour of Marilyn Monroe. It is only recently that Andy's personal style becomes a part of the canon of what is understood as popular. Today's art and entertainment worlds are more industrialized than ever before. Today's artist doesn't critique or represent the Campbell's Soup Can: they are the Campbell's Soup Can. Fiercely independent, unrepresented artist Mandy Harris Williams, critiques these evolving forms and performs alternatives. The cultural critic is by definition a Pop Artist and an elegance in criticism is a form of Pop Stardom.
We are thrilled to be joined by Williams who’s spent a portion of the summer as a Black Life resident dreaming up digital possibilities to share with us. Register for the event set to take place on Thursday, September 17 at 6 PMhereand we’ll be sure to send you a reminder the link the day before the event.
Until then here’s some missives from Williams:
i. Evolution
A generous listening experience that can prepare you for Williams' BAMPFA performance, “Evolution” is a song, a proposition, an invitation, a challenge, a roadmap, an eraser. Buy it on Bandcamp today of all days as all proceeds directly go to artists.
ii. Brown Up Your Feed on NTS
Tune into Williams’ monthly show on internet radio station NTS. August’s episode is now live in the archives. The theme is fatigue.
“I gird my little intellectual tendernesses now, the soft groovy pink places in my mind and I must let you know I’m tired.”