Nari Ward Reclaims a Moment of Grace. NARI WARD with Phong Bui. A few days after the closing of his exhibit Liberty and Orders at Lehmann Maupin Gallery (March 29 – April 21, 2012) artist Nari Ward paid a visit to the Rail’s headquarters to talk with Publisher Phong Bui about his life and work.
Portrait of the artist. Pencil on paper by Phong Bui. Phong Bui (Rail): Denise Markonish, the curator of your last show at Mass MoCA, Sub Mirage Lignum (April 2, 2011 – February 27, 2012), begins her essay for the show’s catalog with a definition of the word “gleaner,” which refers both to Jamaica Gleaner News Online and to the famous painting by Jean François Millet, “The Gleaners.” She goes on to explore the rapport between your memories of the past and your urgent need to situate them in your present life; she concludes from your work that you have a profound sense of labor. Nari Ward: You know, I was just in a big group show in Beijing and participants were there at the gallery installing their work. Rail: [Laughs.] Nari Ward: Poetic Justice. T.P.
Reign Bow, 2012, features a tactical platform used by police to surveil high-risk neighborhoods. At the end of a tour of his recent exhibition at Lehmann Maupin in downtown Manhattan, Nari Ward hands me his business card and pointedly flips it over to show a series of bulleted statements printed on the back. “I wish to speak to my attorney now” reads one, followed by “I will not waive any of my constitutional rights.” Ward’s idea of adding to his business card an abbreviated list of Miranda rights (the rights every arrested person must be informed of by the police) came from one of his brothers, a lawyer, who hands his own Miranda-rights printed card out to clients. But the rights of ordinary citizens have always been much on Ward’s mind—and never more so than in the last year, when he personally went through the process of becoming a United States citizen.
Born in St. “These things are like towers for crime surveillance. Just as T.P. Ann Landi is a contributing editor of ARTnews. 22 Questions for Multimedia Sculptor Nari Ward. Name: Nari WardAge: 48Occupation: Visual artistCity/Neighborhood: Harlem, N.Y.What project are you working on now?
“Casings”: Works using the language and form of the NYC Police Department stop-and-frisk report. While creating work for your latest show at Lehmann Maupin, "Liberty and Orders," you were also working towards becoming a U.S. citizen. How did the naturalization process influence your artwork? It made me more sensitive to the role of ordinary citizens and more aware of the malleability of our democracy. The centerpiece of your new show is an installation called “T.P. I considered the Tactical Platform as a symbol of authority and control; the archetypal tower of power. Much of the work in this show reflects your continued interest in the politics of authority and surveillance. Although my work seems very politically charged, it actually starts from a very personal spiritual place. Do you have tips for dumpster-divers? What's the last show that you saw? Nari Ward. MASS MoCA - Nari Ward: Sub Mirage Lignum. Closing March 4, 2012 Galleries Click here to order an exhibition catalog.
Nari Ward's dramatic sculptural installations are composed of material systematically collected from the neighborhoods where he lives and works or is personally connected to. By revealing the complex emotional registers inherent within everyday found objects, Ward's work examines issues of race, poverty, and consumer culture and the inherent meaning and gravity we place upon objects from the discarded to the treasured. At MASS MoCA, Ward will create a new installation encompassing the entire second floor of Building 4, which visitors can experience as both a large-scale environment and as a series of smaller yet connected spaces.
Ward's installation will function as a hybrid zone where the real and the imaginary are intermingled - a place where one cannot quite disentangle the mirage from reality. The form of Nu Colossus comes from a small conical basket-woven fish trap.