Apr 04, 2017 Jimmie Durham at the Center of the World (a.k.a. The Hammer Museum in Westwood)
I didn’t know much about Jimmie Durham. My wife and I only went to the Hammer because we had tickets to a UCLA basetball game and had some time to kill in Westwood. But I’m really glad we made the pit stop.
Durham is an artist, performer, poet, essayist, and activist who rose up in the New York art scene during the ’80s. The American Indian of Cherokee descent went to Mexico in 1987 and then Europe in 1994, where he makes scathing, funny, and deceptively effortless-looking art to this day.
Durham uses imagery that is popularly associated with Native Americans and then uses humor to subvert the popular perception. He combines material that might be interpreted as natural or from the land with junkyard scraps that reflect the sort of crap given to tribes with regard to land usage, American citizenship, or basic human rights. The effect is raw and powerful.
Durham’s use of words might remind the viewer of Basquiat or Ocampo. It’s funny and seemingly stream-of-consciousness and provides some relief from the political overtones and social commentary on colonial culture.
From paintings to sculpture to installations, the variety and quantity are as provocative as they are overwhelming, comprising a well-deserved career retrospective that will make visitors appreciate a prolific, daring, and relevant artist while he is still alive.
Go see the collection for free at the Hammer through May 7. After that, you’ll have to visit the Walker in Minnesota, Whitney in New York City, or Remai Modern in Saskatoon.
Find out more about the show at hammer.ucla.edu and follow Imprint on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, too.