Mixed | Lonnie Holley

Special Residency
Written By Elsewhere Living Museum & Artist Residency

Mixed, Lonnie Holley (Birmingham, Alabama)
Southern Constellations Fellow. December 2018. Installation view. Acrylic, museum collection garments, mannequins, and miscellaneous items. Dimensions variable.

Much like his body of work extending over four decades, Holley’s compositions are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture. The curated objects already imbued with cultural metaphors, including a blue-faced mannequin and baby dolls depicting different races, weave together narrative sculptures that commemorate the strength of a mother, growing up in 1950s Birmingham, and all of the children who miss opportunities due to institutional inequities. In lieu of an artist statement, provided below is video documentation of Holley describing his project.

Production Support: Matt Arnett

Photos: Amelia Nura

Featured
Lonnie Holley
Lonnie Holley

Lonnie Holley was born on February 10, 1950 in Birmingham, Alabama. From the age of five, Holley worked various jobs: picking up trash at a drive-in movie theatre, washing dishes, and cooking. He lived in a whiskey house, on the state fairgrounds, and in several foster homes. His early life was chaotic and Holley was never afforded the pleasure of a real childhood.

Since 1979, Holley has devoted his life to the practice of improvisational creativity. His art and music, born out of struggle, hardship, but perhaps more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity, has manifested itself in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and sound. Holley’s sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture. Objects, already imbued with cultural and artistic metaphor, are combined into narrative sculptures that commemorate places, people, and events. His work is now in collections of major museums throughout the country, on permanent display in the United Nations, and been displayed in the White House Rose Garden. In January of 2014, Holley completed a one-month artist-in-residence with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in Captiva Island, Florida, site of the acclaimed artist’s studio...Read More.

During Holley’s residency, he created Mixed.

Elsewhere Living Museum & Artist Residency
Previous

2019 Artists
Next

THE BANSHEE UNDE[RAGE] | SHAN Wallace