The New York Times profiled Awol Erizku ’14MFA in an April 10 story about his career and latest projects. The article includes Erizku’s perspective on his high-profile role as the photographer of Beyoncé’s pregnancy announcement, his anti-Trump exhibition soon to open in London, and the formative experiences that shape his art.
The Times describes the fixtures of Erizku’s work, “There are the basketball hoops, which he uses as stand-ins for the black male body. There are the numbers that reference Los Angeles gangs or slang, like a new corrugated steel piece spray-painted with the number “12” for police. ‘It’s a little Cy Twombly-ish, but if you go to any kid on the street they will know what it means,’ Mr. Erizku said.
You can also see a Trump-era development: the image of a black panther, which he has lifted straight from the logo of the Black Panther Party, now roams throughout his work, climbing an American flag or clawing a bed of roses. It also appears atop the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ on a red baseball cap that the artist is selling ‘to have something affordable in the show.'”
(Emily Berl – The New York Times)
(Emily Berl – The New York Times)