Tschabalala Self, Ol’Bay, 2019. Painted canvas, fabric, digital rendering on canvas, hand-colored photocopy, photocopy, paper, Flashe, gouache, and acrylic on canvas, 96 × 84 inches (243.8 × 213.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist and MoMA PS1, New York. Photo by Charles Mayer. © Tschabalala Self Studio
A bouquet of roses, a can of sweetened condensed milk, a travel-sized tube of hair gel. There is this game I loved to play on my morning subway ride to school, where my classmate would pick someone who was exiting the train and I would guess their last in-store purchases. We took a quick look as the doors were closing, seeing them fall out of our periphery as the train left the station, and I would still be in a half-thought about a last minute drugstore buy. Our public selves make momentary assumptions about others, and are also subject to that focus.
Ol’ Bay is from Tschabalala Self’s 2017 project, Bodega Run, encompassing the people, products, and everyday activities that make up the ubiquitous urban corner store. Each figure is set in these hallmarks of colored metropolitan life in New York, sites for social and political interpretation. Often operated by people of color to serve their communities, bodegas are microcosms of multicultural exchange. They are celebrated for camaraderie, late-night service, and unwavering commitment to the neighborhoods’ necessities. The avatars in Self’s series are based on characters you may pass in these places or encounter in the world. In Ol’ Bay, we are faced with familiar items and a larger-than-life personality.
I was fortunate enough to engage a group of museum goers in a Friday night pop-up talk about Ol’ Bay. While the paintings were arranged in the galleries to evoke a walk down the street, we were able to slow down and identify what materials are used, discern the cans behind the figure, and reflect on immediate feelings about the painting. Some comments included “It looks like someone just called her name from the door. Maybe she is well known there,” “I put on lipstick to go to the store too,” and “Who is out of frame?” We confronted the scale of the piece and all of the assumptions that can be made about who this person is.
Tschabalala Self informs each of these figures as composites of interactions of the body in the social world, interacting with objects, spaces, and others. We take the time to regard the difference between who this subject is intimately, what they put forward, what is recognized through social engagement, and ultimately, what is lost.
Kelly Chen started at the ICA in Fall 2019 as a Visitor Assistant, and is a film student and arts community organizer. She is particularly interested in surveillance media, found footage, and public domain video. She is also a short fiction writer and printmaker whose work explores community, labor history, and kitsch.
Friday Art Notes are personal reflections on works of art shown or in the permanent collection of the ICA, written by ICA staff, volunteers, and supporters. Read more
Sara VanDerBeek, Continuum Blue, 2008. Chromogenic color print, 30 1/2 × 30 1/2 × 2 inches (77.5 × 77.5 × 5.1 cm). Gift of Dr. Dana Beth Ardi. Courtesy the artist, Metro Pictures, New York, and Altman Siegel, San Francisco. © Sara VanDerBeek
This activity was designed for ages 8 and older but can be adapted for beginners to experts and for younger kids with adult assistance. Please note that this project involves using scissors to cut paper.
Many artists use everyday materials found around them to create art that conveys different things about the personal and the profound. Sara VanDerBeek’s Continuum Blue is a photograph of a collage, an artwork made by combining different materials (often through cutting and pasting), and shows that it is a great way to create something visually and spatially intriguing. In Continuum Blue, it looks as though you’re looking through a kaleidoscope! We invite you to create your own kaleidoscopic collage and discover how color, texture, pattern, and paper size can create a dazzling effect.
You will need:
Steps:
1. Print and cut out the template of your choosing, cutting out each section into smaller triangle sections. One side of each triangle will have numbers and arrows and the other side will be blank. (The numbers help to keep track of your triangles and the arrows will help you assemble your triangles at the end.)
![Art-Lab_[KCollage]_Step[1]-combined.png](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/art-labkcollagestep1-combined.png)
2. Collect your 2D collage materials.
Keep in mind that you will need pieces that are long enough to cover the width of each triangle section. Some examples of things that you can use are newspapers, old photos, magazines, and flyers — Experiment with a range of 2D materials! Perhaps choose a theme for your piece and collect materials based on a color or idea that unites everything.
![Art Lab_[KCollage]_Step[2].jpeg](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/art-labkcollagestep2-1.jpeg)
3. Cut your collage materials into long strips so that they will fit across the width of your triangle sections. Your strips can be narrow or wide but if you want to make them all equal for a more uniform look, a ruler may be useful.
4. Glue your collage strips onto the blank sides of your triangle sections. (The side with the number and arrow should be on the back.) Glue your first strip along the edge of the longest side of the triangle and work your way to the opposite corner. Don’t worry if the strips hang over the edge (we will trim later). You can create a uniform design by repeating the same pattern of collage strips on each of your triangles, or experiment by creating a new pattern for each.
5. Once you have covered each of your triangle sections with your collage strips, carefully cut along the edge of each triangle to trim off any overhang.
![Art Lab_[KCollage]_Step[4+5].jpeg](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/art-labkcollagestep45-1.jpeg)
6. Connect your triangles and assemble them with the arrows pointing toward the center. You can either tape them together or glue them onto a background of your choosing.
![Art-Lab_[KCollage]_Step[6]-combined.png](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/art-labkcollagestep6-combined-1.png)
This activity was developed by Hallie Selinger, Visitor Experience Manager.
Lorraine O’Grady, Untitled (Mlle Bourgeoise Noire), 1980–83/2009. Gelatin silver prints, fourteen parts, each 15 x 15 inches (38.1 x 38.1 cm) (framed). Acquired through the generosity of Barbara Lee, The Barbara Lee Collection of Art by Women. Courtesy Alexander Gray Associates, New York © Lorraine O’Grady/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Lorraine O’Grady, Untitled (Mlle Bourgeoise Noire), 1980–83/2009. Gelatin silver prints, fourteen parts, each 15 x 15 inches (38.1 x 38.1 cm) (framed). Acquired through the generosity of Barbara Lee, The Barbara Lee Collection of Art by Women. Courtesy Alexander Gray Associates, New York © Lorraine O’Grady/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
While the ICA is temporarily closed, stay creative and connected with us.
Create an alter ego that highlights an aspect of society you’d like to change. Design a costume for this persona using materials in your space. Find inspiration in these photos of Lorraine O’Grady’s first public performance Mlle Bourgeoisie Noire. Learn more about it and her.
To share, email them to teens@icaboston.org and/or tag us @icateens on Instagram.
Jessie Magyar is the School and Family Programs Manager at the ICA, responsible for planning and carrying out programs including monthly Play Dates, artist installations in the Bank of America Art Lab, school vacation week workshops, gallery games, and weekly drop-in art-making activities.
While the ICA is closed, Jessie’s attention has shifted toward bringing art-making into the home, including weekly activities families can do on their own time with easily available materials, virtual Play Dates with real-time art instruction, and a community-based virtual “quilt.”
These virtual programs have become some of the ICA’s most accessed content, demonstrating how much these online activities are appreciated by families as they take on the role of teachers at home.
Here Jessie talks about the challenges and unexpected rewards of pivoting family programs from hands-on to online.
Jessie, first of all, can you describe the Virtual Quilt project and how it came about?
The Virtual Quilt project came out of the Threads of Connection Art Lab installation, a collaboration with artist Merill Comeau. As a part of the project, we invited visitors to create a quilt square in the Art Lab with the option of donating their finished piece to our community quilt. We wanted to keep the project going during the ICA’s temporary closure and so we are now asking folks to create one at home using any materials on hand and sharing it with us digitally.
Was this project always meant to have a digital component?
The digital component was only developed after the ICA decided to temporarily close due to the threat of COVID-19. However, by going virtual, we are finding that we now have an extraordinary opportunity to reach new audiences and to engage with our current audiences in a new way. It allows us to stay connected through art, even when we are apart.
One obvious change has been that people now supply their own materials as opposed to using the materials we provided in the Art Lab. This has actually resulted in really interesting, creative pieces, and I think will ultimately provide a unique reflection of the current moment.
What are some of your chief goals or hopes as you move other programming online?
Our primary goals are to stay connected with our families and to continue to provide opportunities for creativity, community, and reflection. We want to provide opportunities for families to stay active and find joy through art making, but also to help make meaning during these unprecedented times. By engaging in our online programs, we hope families feel more connected to themselves, to each other, and to the greater community.
Any silver linings in working in this new way?
It’s interesting because when I started managing family programs in July 2019, one of my primary goals was to develop an engagement plan for family audiences. Prior to the closure, we focused on in-person experiences at the ICA for families. However, in developing digital resources, I’ve now realized how important they can be in establishing family engagement. By providing resources online, we’re able to cast a greater net of opportunities. It provides flexibility and convenience (so important for families!) and opens the door for deeper engagement.
What’s the most challenging part of doing your work remotely?
The most difficult part by far, and I think many families will relate to this, is balancing and creating boundaries between home life and work life. But I also miss making art with all the visitors at the ICA! In my role, I have the unique opportunity to work on programs for teens, school groups, kids, and families, and a large portion of my work is still dedicated to facilitating classes and workshops.
Lastly, how have you been keeping busy and inspired during the quarantine?
My child certainly keeps me busy! At 18 months, it’s been really special to see him develop into a toddler. He helps me keep things in perspective and find joy in the smallest details.
Check out the Virtual Quilt and other hands-on art-making projects
ICA Kids and Family programs are supported, in part, by Vivien and Alan Hassenfeld, the Hassenfeld Family Foundation, the Willow Tree Fund, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Raymond T. & Ann T. Mancini Family Foundation.
