This week, Jared Bowen gives us a peak at the artist’s process behind “Richard Haynes: Whispering Quilts” and reviews the documentary “Aggie.”
“Richard Haynes: Whispering Quilts,” on view at the Currier Museum of Art through Nov. 29
Artist Richard Haynes tells stories of slavery and freedom in a series of drawings that render colorful quilts juxtaposed with searing evocations of the plights of enslaved people. “Richard Haynes: Whispering Quilts” at the Currier Museum of Art weaves narratives about an enslaved family’s perilous journey along the Underground Railroad. A self-described storyteller who creates narrative series in the tradition of Jacob Lawrence, Haynes plumbs the emotional complexities of Underground Railroad escapes, but he surfaces with messages of hope.
“I want people to see the strength in Black folks,” says Haynes. “I want them to see the pride in Black folks. I want them to see the creativity of Black people.”
“Aggie,” streaming via Coolidge Corner Theatre Oct. 9
Emmy-nominated director Catherine Gund has created a feature-length documentary about her mother, famed New York art collector and philanthropist Agnes Gund. Now President Emerita of the Museum of Modern Art, Agnes Gund has long advocated for art world evolution, from bolstering arts education in public schools to diversifying the representation of artists at MoMA. But “Aggie” documents the doyenne’s epic philanthropic leap as Gund sells a prized Roy Lichtenstein painting and uses $100 million from the sale to create the Art for Justice Fund — an effort, she says, to disrupt the United States system of mass incarceration.
“While the film doesn’t spend the time it should in more clearly defining the Art for Justice Fund efforts, 'Aggie' importantly lays bare the power and capacity to fuel change a select population in this country has,” says Jared. “But only if they’re only willing to tap into a Gund-like empathy and use it.”
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