by Michael Winters
Yesterday I sent out notification letters for our recent exhibit call for entries, Made in the Belly of the Whale. It’s fun to send out the acceptance letters, but sending out rejection letters is the worst. A juried process is inevitably a subjective process. A juror is drawn to certain artworks and not others for a variety of reasons. I respect juror Annie Lee-Zimerle’s choices and stand by them, but there’s a piece not selected I wish more people could see.
The two pages of McKenzie Rich’s sketchbook collage Renaissance bounce back and forth, questioning and answering one another.
The text included could be read, “Never…Too late for a renaissance?”
Or it could be read, “Too late for a renaissance? NEVER.”
The imagery of the collage shows what appear to be two women of color pulled from fashion magazines and a series of brown blocks and brown paint swatches that could represent a gradient of skin tones.
“Renaissance” (2020) by McKenzie Rich. Collage in sketchbook.
Renaissance, in general, is about revival, or renewed interest in something. For example, in the specific time period we refer to as “the Renaissance,” 14-16th century Western Europe experienced a revival of interest in Ancient Greek and Roman thought and culture.
So, in McKenzie’s collage, the imagery and text together seem to be asking if we can believe in revival. Specifically, can we believe in revival for people of all skin tones?
After sitting with this piece for a bit, I prefer the second way of reading the text: “Too late for a renaissance? NEVER.”
In Sojourn Midtown’s new sermon series, The Gospel, Race, and Justice, the pastors proclaim the good news about Jesus that revives people of all ethnicities and empowers them to live for justice for all people. Listen to the first sermon in the series here.