Siddhartha Mitter sur l'art de Cauleen Smith

LES VISITEURS DE LA BIENNALE WHITNEY 2017 se souviendront des bannières. Mesurant environ cinq pieds de haut sur quatre pieds de large, ils étaient suspendus au plafond du hall du musée et de la galerie principale de l'exposition. Chacun présentait, d'un côté, une image criarde telle qu'un oiseau saignant dans le ciel, ou un œil humain transpercé par un crayon. De l’autre côté apparaissait un texte (principalement) conflictuel : MA PATHOLOGIE EST VOTRE PROFIT ; JE SUIS TELLEMENT NOIRE QUE JE T'AVEUGLE; JE N'AI PLUS RIEN. Les mots durs contrastaient avec la beauté luxuriante de ces objets : les couleurs chaudes peintes sur des tissus riches, les paillettes et les franges, les phrases brodées en cursive qui les imprégnaient d'innocence et d'immédiateté. Et lorsqu'un jour les banderoles furent sorties du musée pour être portées en procession, c'était au son joyeux de chants de liberté spirituels.

Cauleen Smith n'était peut-être pas connue du grand public, ni même d'une grande partie du monde de l'art, avant que ses bannières et leur défilé ne fassent partie de la Biennale. Mais dans l’avant-garde noire – les afrofuturistes et les activistes communautaires, les artistes, les écrivains et les théoriciens qui imaginent des modes de vie qui les rendent dignes en tant que sujets noirs ainsi que de l’humanité entière – elle est en quelque sorte une héroïne pour l’ampleur et la générosité de son travail. Beaucoup la connaissent encore principalement pour son métier de cinéaste, son métier original, qu’elle a étudié à l’UCLA au début des années 1990. Son long métrage Drylongso (1998) est un classique culte indépendant noir, salué par la critique mais difficile à trouver ; depuis, elle a tourné au moins une quarantaine de courts métrages expérimentaux.

Cauleen Smith, Leave Me for the Crows, 2017, recto\/verso, satin, poly-satin, silk-rayon velvet, metallic thread, polyester fringe, poly-silk tassels, sequins, 78 \u00d7 51 1⁄2\". From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","copyright":"","pathSquare":false,"pathLarge":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article21_1064x.jpg","path":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article21.jpg","numericKey":1,"crops":{"original":{"270":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article21_270x.jpg","430":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article21_430x.jpg","810":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article21_810x.jpg","1064":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article21_1064x.jpg"}},"pathOriginalCrop":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article21_1064x.jpg","orientation":"landscape"},{"mediatype":0,"item_id":79523,"id":332606,"mimetype":"image\/jpeg","caption":"
*Cauleen Smith, _I Have Nothing Left_, 2017,* recto\/verso, satin, poly-satin, quilted pleather, upholstery, wool felt, embroidery floss, metallic thread, satin cord, sequins, 71 \u00d7 50\". From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","captionFormatted":"
Cauleen Smith, I Have Nothing Left, 2017, recto\/verso, satin, poly-satin, quilted pleather, upholstery, wool felt, embroidery floss, metallic thread, satin cord, sequins, 71 \u00d7 50\". From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","copyright":"","pathSquare":false,"pathLarge":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article22_1064x.jpg","path":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article22.jpg","numericKey":2,"crops":{"original":{"270":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article22_270x.jpg","430":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article22_430x.jpg","810":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article22_810x.jpg","1064":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article22_1064x.jpg"}},"pathOriginalCrop":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article22_1064x.jpg","orientation":"landscape"},{"mediatype":0,"item_id":79523,"id":332607,"mimetype":"image\/jpeg","caption":"*Cauleen Smith, _We Were Never Meant to Survive_, 2017,* recto\/verso, satin, poly-satin, wool felt, upholstery, indigo-dyed silk-rayon velvet, metallic thread, embroidery floss, acrylic fabric paint, poly-silk tassels, sequins, 72 \u00d7 52\". From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","captionFormatted":"Cauleen Smith, We Were Never Meant to Survive, 2017, recto\/verso, satin, poly-satin, wool felt, upholstery, indigo-dyed silk-rayon velvet, metallic thread, embroidery floss, acrylic fabric paint, poly-silk tassels, sequins, 72 \u00d7 52\". From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","copyright":"","pathSquare":false,"pathLarge":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article23_1064x.jpg","path":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article23.jpg","numericKey":3,"crops":{"original":{"270":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article23_270x.jpg","430":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article23_430x.jpg","810":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article23_810x.jpg","1064":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article23_1064x.jpg"}},"pathOriginalCrop":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article23_1064x.jpg","orientation":"landscape"},{"mediatype":0,"item_id":79523,"id":332608,"mimetype":"image\/jpeg","caption":"*Cauleen Smith, _Fear Looks Back at Me_, 2017,* recto\/verso, satin, poly-satin, upholstery, silk-rayon velvet, acrylic fabric paint, sequins, 62 1⁄2 \u00d7 50 1⁄2\". From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","captionFormatted":"Cauleen Smith, Fear Looks Back at Me, 2017, recto\/verso, satin, poly-satin, upholstery, silk-rayon velvet, acrylic fabric paint, sequins, 62 1⁄2 \u00d7 50 1⁄2\". From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","copyright":"","pathSquare":false,"pathLarge":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article24_1064x.jpg","path":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article24.jpg","numericKey":4,"crops":{"original":{"270":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article24_270x.jpg","430":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article24_430x.jpg","810":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article24_810x.jpg","1064":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article24_1064x.jpg"}},"pathOriginalCrop":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article24_1064x.jpg","orientation":"landscape"},{"mediatype":0,"item_id":79523,"id":332609,"mimetype":"image\/jpeg","caption":"*Cauleen Smith, _Black Flesh_, 2017,* recto\/verso, rayon velvet, rayon-polyester ribbon, and sequins, 67 1⁄2 \u00d7 55\". Both from the series “In the Wake,” 2017. From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","captionFormatted":"Cauleen Smith, Black Flesh, 2017, recto\/verso, rayon velvet, rayon-polyester ribbon, and sequins, 67 1⁄2 \u00d7 55\". Both from the series “In the Wake,” 2017. From the series “In the Wake,” 2017.","copyright":"","pathSquare":false,"pathLarge":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article25_1064x.jpg","path":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article25.jpg","numericKey":5,"crops":{"original":{"270":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article25_270x.jpg","430":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article25_430x.jpg","810":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article25_810x.jpg","1064":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article25_1064x.jpg"}},"pathOriginalCrop":"\/uploads\/upload.002\/id13987\/article25_1064x.jpg","orientation":"landscape"}]" class="mobile-full-width">