belonging
- – This is a past exhibition
belonging is an intimate grouping of works that center Black American domesticity and placemaking. The exhibition is inspired by the bell hooks novel, Belonging: A Culture of Place (2009), a collection of essays that explores notions of home through hooks’s personal journey to and from her birthplace in Kentucky. Featuring works by Edgar Arceneaux, Rodney McMillian, Kori Newkirk, Michael Queenland, Betye Saar, and Lorna Simpson, belonging explores the interiority of Black American life through the domestic realm, as place where intimacy, family, and personal identity intersect with broader issues of class, race, and politics.
belonging is organized by Erin Christovale, associate curator, with Vanessa Arizmendi, curatorial assistant.
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Rodney McMillian, Chairs and Books, 2004Found armchair, found books. Dimensions variable. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Gift of Peter Norton. © 2004 Rodney McMillian -
Kori Newkirk, Still Nothing, 2001Pony beads, hair extensions. 72 13/16 x 66 15/16 x 1 3/16 in. (185 x 170 x 3 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Gift of Michael W. Rabkin and Chip Tom. © 2010 Kori Newkirk -
Edgar Arceneaux, Failed Attempt at Crystallization, 2002Glass, sugar crystals, wood, mirror, book (Alex Haley’s Roots: The Saga of an American Family). 55 3/4 x 18 x 20 in. (141.6 x 45.7 x 50.8 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Gift of Dean Valentine and Amy Adelson. © Edgar Arceneaux, courtesy of Susan Vielmetter Los Angeles -
Michael Queenland, Untitled, 2017RR O.K. Broom Co. Railway Exchange Train Broom Chicago, wood crate. Broom: 53 7/8 × 10 1/2 × 4 in. (136.8 × 26.7 × 10.2 cm); base: 1 7/8 × 17 × 24 in. (4.8 × 43.2 × 61 cm). Hammer Museum Los Angeles. Purchased with funds provided by Chara Schreyer. © Michael Queenland -
![Betye Saar, Fragments, 1976]()
Betye Saar, Fragments, 1976Color lithograph from an aluminum plate. 14 ½ × 18 ¾ in. (36.8 × 47.6 cm). UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Gift of Linda Levi and Barbara Leif. © 1976 Betye Saar -
![Lorna Simpson, Counting, 1991]()
Lorna Simpson, Counting, 1991Photogravure and screenprint. 73 ¾ × 37 7/8 in. (187.3 × 96.2). UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Purchased with funds provided by the Friends of the Graphic Arts. © Lorna Simpson, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth -
![belonging, installation view]()
belonging, installation viewHammer Museum, Los Angeles, August 31–November 10, 2019. Photo: Jeff McLane -
![belonging, installation view]()
belonging, installation viewHammer Museum, Los Angeles, August 31–November 10, 2019. Photo: Jeff McLane -
![belonging, installation view]()
belonging, installation viewHammer Museum, Los Angeles, August 31–November 10, 2019. Photo: Jeff McLane -
![belonging, installation view]()
belonging, installation viewHammer Museum, Los Angeles, August 31–November 10, 2019. Photo: Jeff McLane
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