Image credit: Mariah MirandaMeet the Artists Reception: Saturday, January 21 from 2pm to 4pm
Framework Panel #31: Double Rainbow: Future Archives
A conversation with artists Holly Bass & Maps Glover at Eaton DC.
Thursday, Feb 2, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Transformer is pleased to present PRISMMMs, the 2nd exhibition within the two-part Double Rainbow: Future Archives by artists Holly Bass and Maps Glover, presented in collaboration with CulturalDC. PRISMMMs at Transformer features highlights from Bass and Glover’s expansive performance video archives in a light-filled installation echoing hues from the SMPTE color bar.
Recognizing that creating public archives of their experiences as Black artists preserves their importance in history, with PRISMMMs Holly Bass & Maps Glover share videos of Bass’s performances from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, and Glover’s performances from 2015-2020. PRISMMMs is informed by the Black experience, particularly how video documentation has been used to legitimize and validate Black life in a society that seeks to erase Black people’s humanity.
“By collaborating to create an exhibition of video work that showcases our live performance work, and inviting our parents and cousins and aunts and uncles into the art space with us, we prioritize audiences that have been historically excluded from predominantly white art spaces. When we share our work on social media and invite our friends, collaborators, and other District residents into the gallery to see our work, we create opportunities for discussion and reflection on the beautiful complexity and diversity that exists within the Black community of Washington, DC. We shift the narrative. We represent ourselves, our cultural lineages, and our collective futures. Double Rainbow refers to a rare meteorological phenomenon in which two full rainbows can be seen simultaneously, with one arcing directly above the other.” – Holly Bass & Maps Glover
PRISMMMs is a physical representation showing that Black conceptual artists are part of the larger Black community: representing themselves, celebrating cultural lineages, and championing collective futures. As an alternative to the traditional rainbow, the SMPTE color bars are symbolic of analog video and represent the changes in video technology, memory, and visual culture. These color bars are used to create an immersive experience into the past and future of Bass and Glover’s work.
This presentation of archival work shifts the narrative and amplifies the importance of visual representation, and is an explicit invitation to DC’s Black community, welcoming and prioritizing this audience, which continues to be excluded by the art world.
EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING:
- Sat. January 21, 2023, 2 – 4 PM OPENING RECEPTION / MEET THE ARTISTS
Join Transformer on our opening day of PRISMMMs and meet artists Holly Bass & Maps Glover. - Thurs. Feb 2, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM FRAMEWORK PANEL #31 DOUBLE RAINBOW: FUTURE ARCHIVES ARTIST TALK – A CONVERSATION WITH HOLLY BASS & MAPS GLOVER AT EATON DC
Join us at Eaton DC for a conversation in their Cinema space with artists Holly Bass & Maps Glover as they discuss themes from their two-part exhibition Double Rainbow: Future Archives. Co-moderated by Victoria Reis, Transformer’s Executive & Artistic Director, and Jamal Gray, Cultural DC’s Program Engagement Coordinator, this panel conversation will explore & examine Bass & Glover’s multidisciplinary practice, and conceptual and material elements of their two-part exhibition Double Rainbow: Future Archives as shared through visuals and video highlights of their performance art work, as well as the praxis of collaborative work.
Eaton DC is located at 1201 K St NW, Washington, DC 20005. This event will take place in Eaton DC’s Cinema Room. Attendance is free, but seating is limited.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Holly Bass is a multidisciplinary performance and visual artist, writer and director. Her work has been presented at spaces such as the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Seattle Art Museum, and the 2022 Venice Biennale. Her visual art work includes photography, installation, video and performance. A gifted and dedicated teaching artist, she directed a year-round creative writing and performance program for the DC juvenile detention center for four years and continues to facilitate workshops nationally and internationally.
Maps Glover is a multidisciplinary performance and visual artist, with a focus on Afrofuturism. His works have been performed all around the country in spaces such as the Kennedy Center, the National Portrait Gallery, Albright University, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. His visual art work includes photography, installation, video, performance, and his murals and can be found in publications such as the Washington Post, the Washington Informer’s Bridge, Hello Mr., and Relapse magazine.
Exhibition Hours at Transformer:
- Wednesday – Saturday, 12 – 6 pm
Transformer is located at 1404 P St. NW.
