Two new exhibitions are opening at the Museum of Art

Tuesday, August 28, 2018
lithograph

Wendy Red Star, Yakima or Yakama - Not for me to say, 2015-16, three-color lithograph with chine-collé archival pigment ink photograph, Edition 19 /20, 24” x 40”, Collection of the Museum of Art, UNH, purchased through the Edmund G. Miller Art Collection Fund, 2018.12

Two new exhibitions People, Places and Things: Recent Acquisitions 2014-2018 and Fahamu Pecou: DO or DIE: Affect, Ritual, Resistance will be on view at the Museum of Art, University of New Hampshire beginning August 29 – October 20, 2018. A reception takes place on Thursday, September 6, 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. The Museum of Art and programs are open to the public free of charge.

People, Places and Things: Recent Acquisitions 2014-2018

Each year the collection committee meets to consider gifts and purchases of paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and sculpture. Over the past five years, the result has been the addition of hundreds of contemporary and historic works of art in a variety of media and styles presenting different points of view and artistic concerns to create a dynamic, ever-changing collection. Over forty works are on display, including an etching by America artist Wayne Thiebaud, works from Los Angeles based-sculptor, mixed-media, and installation artist Alison Saar, Boston based artist Catherine Graffam, photographer Robert von Sternberg, and Native American contemporary multimedia artist Wendy Red Star.

Museum Director Kristina Durocher will give curator talk on the exhibition Wednesday, September 12, 12:10 -1 p.m., Paul Creative Arts Center, Museum of Art. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Black man crouching
Fahamu Pecou, The Return, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 96’ x 96”

Fahamu Pecou: DO or DIE: Affect, Ritual, Resistance

Fahamu Pecou is an Atlanta-based visual artist and scholar whose works combine observations on hip-hop, fine art, and popular culture. Pecou is profoundly involved in exploring the state of Black existence–life and death¬–in his work. Through performance, painting, drawing, music, and video, Pecou reframes our view, incorporating references from the West African Yoruba religion as well as Ifa rituals, and integrates in his work both African cultural retentions found in hip-hop and the philosophy of Negritude. Through this, Pecou shapes a story that seeks to affirm life via an understanding of the balance between life and death.

Fahamu Pecou: DO or DIE: Affect, Ritual Resistance has been organized by the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, in collaboration with the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University and is also supported by the Rines Art Exhibition Fund, Museum of Art, UNH.

Image Credit: Fahamu Pecou, The Return, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 96' x 96"

About the artist

Dr. Fahamu Pecou is an interdisciplinary artist and scholar whose works combine observations on hip-hop, fine art and popular culture. Pecou's paintings, performance art, and academic work addresses concerns around contemporary representations of Black masculinity and how these images impact both the reading and performance of Black masculinity.

Fahamu received his BFA at the Atlanta College of Art and PhD from Emory University. Pecou maintains an active exhibition schedule as well as public lectures and speaking engagements at colleges and museums nationwide.

In 2017 Pecou was the subject of a retrospective exhibition "Miroirs de l'Homme" in Paris, France. He is a recipient of the 2016 Joan Mitchell Foundation "Painters and Sculptors" Award. His work is featured in noted private and public national and international collections including; Smithsonian National Museum of African American Art and Culture, Societe Generale (Paris), Nasher Museum at Duke University, The High Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Seattle Art Museum, Paul R. Jones Collection, Clark Atlanta University Art Collection and Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia.

Additional exhibition programming for Fahamu Pecou: DO or DIE: Affect, Ritual, Resistance include: Meet the artist, Tuesday, October 2, 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Dr. Pecou will lead an exhibition walkthrough and light refreshments will be served immediately following, Paul Creative Arts Center, Museum of Art. The Barber Shop, Thursday, October 4, 10:00.a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Paul Creative Arts Center, Museum of Art, UNH. The Barber Shop is an event that combines culture, conversation, and communication to build relationships within the UNH community. Haircuts are a vehicle to build bridges between students, faculty, and staff. The shop combines amazing energy, positive vibes, the entrepreneurial spirit, and a dope haircut to ensure that fun never leaves the UNH community. This event is to educate UNH community members of the history of the barbershop as a pivotal center of community building and information exchange in communities of color. Please join us for free haircuts and enjoy the barbershop atmosphere with music, card games, and snacks. We ask that you provide the barbers tips. Curator talk, Friday, October 19, 12 – 12:30 p.m., in conjunction with the 12th Annual Black New England Conference being held on campus October 19 – 20, Director Kristina Durocher will give a curator talk on the current exhibition, Fahamu Pecou: DO or DIE: Affect, Ritual, Resistance, Paul Creative Arts Center, Museum of Art, UNH.