The word viral has both good and bad connotations. For instance, it is bad if it’s in relation to a contagious disease, but it is good if it’s in relation to a happening that you can take part in via the Internet. This Saturday, Mar. 10th @ 3pm, participate in the viral good as artist Ebony G. Patterson streams her newest project “Cheap and Clean – Interrogating Masculinities” live via Facebook. The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft will also host the live viewing of this event at their facility in Louisville (not Lexington as the promos have listed) at 3pm. Some of Patterson’s work is currently on view at KMAC in the exhibit Into the Mix. She is also an Assistant Professor in Painting and Mixed Media at the University of Kentucky.
Patterson’s “Cheap and Clean” project relates to her ongoing body of work that raises questions about “perceptions of masculinity within Jamaican dancehall culture.” What is Jamaican dancehall culture? Patterson explains, “The dancehall has become a place of major cultural significance amongst young working class Jamaicans. It is the community waterhole where one learns about the latest slangs, songs, dances, fashion and social gender practices. The Dancehall is the belly of Jamaican society that reaffirms, reflects and assigns labels as it relates to social norms or behaviors deemed deviant with Jamaican society, such as homosexual stereotypes.”
Ebony G. Patterson with Fashion Designer Chris Pablo and exhibit participant.
Patterson has been in Kingston, Jamaica organizing this event and asking the 14 young men that she cast for the project to explore their own ideas about masculinity through fashion. The participants designed outfits based on these ideas/ideals. Patterson hired Fashion Designer Chris Pablo to make the participant designed outfits, which will also include embellishments done by the artist. The ‘photo studio’ was made based on a Georgian dollhouse structure, used in reference to the domestic and toys. On March 10th, the participants will be documented in both clothing and space, photographically and also in video.
The stage is set.
This is a curious event and people have begun posting questions on Patterson’s Facebook page.
It’s always great to hear directly from the artist.
Ebony G. Patterson “Cheap and Clean – Interrogating Masculinities” live via Facebook, March 10th @ 3pm.
Take part in one of the new frontiers in art exhibition.
photos: courtesy of Patterson’s Facebook page. Feature photo: Ebony G. Patterson, “Entourage”
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