BlackBook Media

BlackBook is an award winning arts & culture brand, founded in 1996.

Art + Impact is our ongoing social and cultural series that explores pressing contemporary issues and global conversations, through art. ART + IMPACT

BlackBook is an award winning arts & culture brand, founded in 1996 by Evanly Schindler as a print magazine, publishing and media company. Since its inception, BlackBook has been a point of convergence for social impact, culture, and art. Known for

its creative collaborations, the print magazine worked with leading brands and talent, serving as a launching pad for then-emerging names that have now become leaders in the arts and culture and entertainment fields. BlackBook debuted their Art+Impact initiative–an immersive series that includes exhibitions, books, podcasts, and events–that looks at the most pressing contemporary cultural issues through the lens of art. The series builds on BlackBook’s original ethos: to create a space where the world’s most influential artists and writers can address–and change–the cultural tides. BlackBook is also a full-service art advisory, and has partnered with some of the world's largest institutions, galleries, and collectors to exhibit and sell art.

18/10/2024

Snapshots from ‘Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice,’ at . Curated by and and featuring works by , .chin, and LaToya Ruby Frazier, among others, the exhibition examines the climate crisis and anthropogenic disasters, and how these events undeniably intersect with social justice. Read more about the exhibition at the link in our bio.

Images: ‘Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice,’ installation view. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, Sep 14, 2024 – Jan 5, 2025. Photo: Sarah Golonka. LaToya Ruby Frazier, Moses West Holding a “Free Water” Sign on North Saginaw Street between East Marengo Avenue and East Pulaski Avenue, Flint, Michigan, 2019

19/09/2024

Is it fall yet? Yayoi Kusama, known for her surreal, almost hallucinogenic art, first started using the vegetable in her work back in 1946. But it wasn’t until the ‘80s, when she cemented her brand of outsider art, that the pumpkin became one of her most iconic symbols.

Kusama began incorporating the pumpkin in their dotted drawings and paintings, and later, as sculptures on her installations. In 1993, she included pumpkins in her Mirror Room installation at the Venice Biennale. The following year, she debuted her first giant pumpkin sculpture at Naoshima Island in Japan (where it still lives). This was the first in a series of outdoor installations featuring her famous pumpkin sculptures. “I would confront the spirit of the pumpkin, forgetting everything else and concentrating my mind entirely upon the form before me,” she’s said of the process. “I spent as much as a month facing a single pumpkin. I regretted even having to take time to sleep.”

Of the symbol, she’s often said she’s attracted to their “generous unpretentiousness,” calling them “humble, amusing, and a great comfort,” noting that they represent the “joy for living.”

Yayoi Kusama, ‘Three Pumpkins,’ 1993. ‘Pumpkin,’ 2024. ‘Red Pumpkin,’ 1996. ‘Infinity Mirrored Room —All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins,’ 2016.

28/08/2024

’s newest outdoor exhibition, ‘She Who Sits,’ is a multi-city experience exploring femininity and the power that is held within the Black matriarchal figure. Presented by and , the six pieces are on display across over 300 bus shelters in New York City, Boston, and Chicago. The works feature women seated in different intimate settings, playing with the idea of rejecting perception and reclaiming spaces through the lens of a Black woman. On view through November 24, ‘She Who Sits’ is a public celebration of Black womanhood in all its forms.

Read more about Tavers and the exhibition at the link in our bio.

Adrienne Elise Tarver, ‘She who sits,’ 2024. ‘In the face of the sun,’ 2024. ‘Dark Star,’ 2024. Installation images. Photo: Nicholas Knight, Courtesybof Public Art Fund, NY. Presented by Publiv Art Fund as a part of ‘Adrienne Elise Tarver: She who sits,’ an exhibition on 300 JCDecaux bus shelters in New York, Chicago, and Boston, August 14 - November 24, 2024.

22/08/2024

The feminist art icon, environmentalist, author, and educator, .chicago, has been a trailblazer for the last six decades. Her newest exhibition, ‘Revelations,’ at includes drawings and other rarely seen works dating back to her early twenties. Marking the artist’s largest solo exhibition in a London institution thus far, themes of feminism, gender empowerment, and climate justice are sprinkled through the Serpentine space.

Chicago has been working since the late 1960s, consistently creating work centered around the female experience, using art as a vehicle for activism in all its forms. In 1968, Chicago started her ‘Atmospheres’ series, which used natural materials to create tinted smoke settings in various desert landscapes. As the series expanded, she painted women’s n**e bodies in clouds of color, playing with the ways the human body and natural elements intertwine.

Read more about Chicago and ‘Revelations’ at the link in our bio.

Judy Chicago, ‘Woman Creating Fire,’ from ‘Woman with Liquid Smoke,’ and ‘Smoke Bodies,’ from ‘Women and Smoke,’ 1971-72. Remastered in 2016. Courtesy of Through the Flower Archives and the artist.

09/08/2024

Rainy week in New York⚡️Channeling , , , and ⚡️

Walter de Maria, The Lightning Field, 1977. April Gornik, The Other Side II, 2022. Nate Lowman, Maria, 2022. Ansel Adams, Thunderstorm, Yosemite Valley, 1991. Ugo Rondinone, Bright Light Shining, installation view, 2023.

06/08/2024

.impacts is mobilizing the next generation of environmental photographers. The women-led non-profit is currently providing a series of grants and a mentorship program for aspiring environmental artists. Previous winners include , and .

Read more about the program and application process at the link in our bio📸✨

Tailyr Irvine, Buffalo walk along a hill on Turtle Mound Buffalo Ranch on November 9, 2020 on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana. Musuk Nolte, The settlers of the Quelcancca community return carrying the flag of Peru from one of the headwaters of the watershed, located at over 4000 meters above sea level, where they collectively planted over 23,000 queñal seedlings. Edgar Kanaykõ Xakriabá, Headdress in power, forest standing,’ a portrait of Célia Xakriabá from the series Corpo-território. Photos courtesy of Vital Impacts.

30/07/2024

Some highlights from ‘Social Abstraction,’ by , , and Cy Gavin curated by on view now at Beverly Hills.

Read more about the exhibition at the link in our bio.

Alteronce Gumby, ‘Zulu,’ 2023. Amanda Williams, ‘CandyLadyBlack (This Stuff is Starting Now),’ 1023. Cy Gavin, ‘Untitled (A Meteor),’ 2024.

29/07/2024

Today is World Tiger Day🐅 The day was originally organized by to generate support for this endangered species and help grow the global population of wild tigers.

Artist has often used the tiger in his work. Known for his groundbreaking firework performances and “explosion images,” in which Qiang uses gunpowder residue from his performances to create paintings and drawings, Qiang uses art to connect with nature on a physical and spiritual level. “Using gunpowder brings me closer to nature and even the universe,” he has said.

In 2004, Qiang opened ‘Inopportune,’ an installation series at that featured nine life-size tiger replicas, pierced with arrows. The visual was violent and haunting.
The coinciding gunpowder painting, ‘Tigers with Arrows,’ 2005, though featuring the same visual, was beautiful and calm. That dichotomy — a mix of chaos and comfort, and beauty born from destruction — is a recurrent theme in Qiang’s work and his process, creating art from literal ashes; a cycle that mirrors the cycles of nature itself.

‘Tigers with Arrows,’ 2005. ‘Inopportune: Stage Two,’ 2004.

12/07/2024

Plastic Free July is almost halfway done! What are you doing to turn your plastic waste into something useful?

Plastic Free July is a global movement dedicated to reducing single use plastic waste. The movement is a helpful way to raise awareness and create cleaner streets, oceans, and communities. Artists like , , , and Chris Jordan have found artful uses for plastic waste, making beauty out of destruction.

Alejandro Duran, Washed Up, Algas, 2013. Şebnem Coşkun, Trash, 2019. Tara Donovan, Untitled (Plastic Cups), 2006. Hugo McCloud, Translated Memories, 2021 (detail). Chris Jordan, Venus, 2011.

28/06/2024

The relationship we have with our hair looks different to everyone, but holds significant value in human experience. Hair can be used as a tool to explore aesthetic identity, encourage self-confidence, and change not only our self perception, but how we are perceived by others, as well. At times, it even acts as a defense mechanism for those going through bodily or physical identity changes.

A new exhibition, ‘Don’t Touch My Hair,’ at explores the significance hair holds in our lives and the role it plays in cultural identity. Curated by , the exhibition features works by , , J.D. Okhai Ojeikere, and more.

“This exhibition is a very personal exploration of a subject that has occupied my thoughts for the past five years,” writes Traore. “Whether body hair, head hair, hair tools, objects made with hair, inspired by hair or depicting interesting representations of hair, this show celebrates hair as a symbol of beauty, power and identity.”

Read more about the exhibition at the link in our bio.

Felandus Thames, ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ 2024. Hiba Schahbaz, ‘Self Portrait as Grand Odalisque (after Ingres),’ 2017. J.D. Okhai Ojeikere, ‘Onile Gogoro Or Akaba,’ 1975. Camila Falquez, ‘Miss Patsy In Decline (She/Her),’ 2021. Laetitia Adam-Rabel, ‘Hanging on by a Hair,’ 2021.

26/06/2024

“That’s the thing about art—it can resonate over the generations with different kinds of people and different races,” says . The artist’s new exhibition, ‘Our First and Last Love’ at showcases Harris’ work over the last four decades, using his own personal experiences to open up conversations related to race, sexuality, and gender.

Through the exhibition, Harris is able to take the viewer on a visual journey through various phases and experiences in his life that transcend beyond photographs. The experiences may be unique to Harris, but they also transcend the artist—and time—becoming mirrors through which we can see and examine ourselves.

Read more about the exhibition at the link in our bio.

Lyle Ashton Harris, ‘Billie Dreaming in Blue,’ 2021.

14/06/2024

Weekend plans☀️👙⛱️🏝️ In 2019, Rugilė Barzsžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė and Lina Lapelytė debuted ‘Sun and Sea (Marina),’ at the Venice Biennale. The opera, which featured 24 performers on a custom set made to look like a beach, was a bold take on the environment — as the performers lounged, tanned, and relaxed on the beach they sang about the causes and impacts of climate change.

The “climate change opera,” as many have described it, won the festival’s Golden Lion award and examined climate change in an innovative way, exploring the relationship between people and the planet. The artistic trio wanted “to find the right tenor of the artistic expression: how to tackle the utterly important and global topic of a climate disaster in a gentle and light way,” said Grainytė of the work. “The setting is sunny, the music is poppy, the lyrics carry quotidian register and are both ironic and melancholic. The catastrophe is throbbing in the air instead of being exposed right into the face.”

Still from ‘Sun and Sea (Marina),’ 2017.

09/06/2024

Happy 🌊 The Ocean Project launched the first in 2002, with the goal of celebrating our oceans and calling for the necessary changes that need to be made to support and save them. This year’s theme is ‘Catalyzing Action for Our Ocean & Climate,’ inspiring people to work together and create tangible change. Today is about collective collaboration and actionable items—working with its global network of youth leaders and 2,000+ organizations in 150+ countries, World Ocean Day encourages us to take real steps towards a more sustainable future.

We’re celebrating by looking at some of our favorite works inspired by and about the ocean, from artists including , , , , , , , , and 🌊 These works examine the beauty and mystery of the water, inspiring us to work to preserve it.

Raymond Pettibon, ‘Untitled (The view from beyond the breakers),’ 1988-94. Ed Ruscha, ‘A Particular Kind of Heaven,’ 1983. Claudia Comte, ‘Underwater Cacti,’ 2019. Doug Aitken, ‘Underwater Pavilions,’ 2016. Kay WalkingStick, ‘Wampanoag Coast, Variation II,’ 2018. Vija Celmins, ‘Untitled (Waves),’ 1970. Wu Tsang, ‘MOBY DICK; Or, The Whale,’ 2022. Christo and Jeanne-Claude, ‘Running Fence,’ 1976. Pipilotti Rist, ‘Sip My Ocean,’ 1996. Ryan McGinley, ‘Whirlwind,’ 2003.

05/06/2024

Happy 🌎🌳🌊✨ First held in 1973 by the , World Environment Day is a global day meant to inspire action for the protection of our earth. Focused on raising awareness for environmental issues such as climate change, sustainable development, water conservation, reforestation, animal preservation and more, World Environment Day is a day to focus on nature, and on our role in helping, rather than harming it.

Artists have been showing their commitment to these causes—and the earth—throughout history, using art to connect with nature in all forms.

Check out some of our favorite environmental art and land works by , .chicago, , , Walter de Maria, , Nam June Paik, and .

Yoko Ono, ‘I Love You Earth,’ 2017. Judy Chicago, ‘Purple Atmosphere,’ 1969. Rose B. Simpson, ‘Counterculture,’ 2022. Robert Smithson, ‘Spiral Jetty,’ 1970. Walter de Maria, ‘The Lightning Field,’ 1977. Serge Attukwei Clottey, ‘Gold Falls,’ 2022. Nam June Paik, ‘TV Garden,’ 1974-77. Jenny Holzer, ‘Hurt Earth Project,’ 2021.

04/06/2024

Tonight, will debut ’s newest sculpture, ‘Attrition.’ Made up of steel and ash black patina features, the 10-foot skeletal bison explores the relationship between animals, humans, and land in the context of Ingenious experiences within the United States.

The symbol of the bison represents the displacement of Indigenous people, and the disruption that European settlers caused to the native land. Bison were once used as a source of food, shelter, clothing, and as a tool-making material for Indigenous people.

“My ongoing exploration of bison aims to bring awareness to the importance of their impact as an apex species in the environment,” Luger said. “Over the course of my life, I’ve developed a personal relationship with this animal – one that is on the verge of survivor’s guilt – because I know their eradication was put in place to create dominance in the Central Plains.”

The sculpture will live on the pathway to City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan. The opening reception will take place tonight, and ‘Attrition’ be on view to the public from June 5 through November 17, 2024. Read more about Luger and his new work at the link in our bio.

Cannupa Hanska Luger: ‘Attrition, 2024.’ Cast steel. Photo: Nicholas Knight, Courtesy of Public Art Fund, NY.

31/05/2024

celebrates the relationship between nature and art. Using a minimalist approach, she uses raw, recycled materials and plays with the viewer’s senses of perception. In her 1986 piece, ‘Stick Spiral,’ Webster created a large-scale installation using only branches; in ‘Moss Bed, King,’ 1986, she built a lush square piece of greenery made up of moss; in 1990’s ‘Wall of Beeswax,’ the artist sculpted a golden curved wall made entirely of fragrant beeswax.

Throughout her career, Webster has used materials like sand, stones, and other organic materials to create installations that challenge the way we interact with art and nature.

‘Stick Spiral,’ ‘Moss Bed’ and ‘Wall of Beeswax,’ along with six other large scale sculptures are on view now in a long-term exhibition at . Read more about the works at the link in our bio.

Meg Webster, ‘Stick Spiral,’ 1986. Meg Webster, ‘Moss Bed, King,’ 1986. Meg Webster, ‘Wall of Beeswax,’ 1990. Installation images. Photos by Billie Jacobson Studio. Courtesy of Dia Art Foundation.

30/05/2024

Getting in the mood for Summer with ‘Un dimanche après-midi à I’ll de la Grande Jatte,’ or ‘A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte,’ 1884-86 by Georges Seurat☀️

A founding work of the neo-impressionist movement, the painting shows Parisians relaxing at a park by the River Seine, and exemplifies Seurat’s use of pointillism—a technique in which the painting is made up of tiny dots to enhance perception, color, and hue. First exhibited in 1886, the work now hangs at .

24/05/2024

Snapshots from ’s new exhibition, ‘As For Now,’ at in New York. The exhibition, which is on view now through June 22, investigates the idea of the self, process, and materiality.

The flower series—made using single-use plastics—were inspired by the artist’s daily meditation practice during the height of quarantine, and represent growth and the passage of time.

“Art is a continual way of showing how we see things—how we see ourselves,” said the artist. “I think there’s something interesting about that relation of materials, the relation of the pieces, how it’s all connected.”

Read more about the exhibition at the link in our bio.

Installation images from ‘Hugo McCloud: As For Now’ at Sean Kelly, New York. Photography: Jason Wyche, Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York/Los Angeles.

17/05/2024

A new exhibition, ‘I Used to be a Tree’ at gallery showcases how artists are using recycled materials in innovative ways.

Pushing the boundaries between artwork and object, the exhibition explores the limitless lifeline inanimate objects possess, and the importance they play in the human experience. Featuring thirteen sculptures and installations by artists including , , , .umico, and , the show speaks to the opportunity of sustainability in practice. Putting new life into an existing object will allow for less waste overtime, and creates the neverending possibility for beauty.

Read more about the exhibition, on view through June 16, at the link in our bio.

Larry Mantello, Teapot Camelot, 2020. John Fleischer, F33 (The one about the hyper agent and the fool), 2023.

16/05/2024

Inspired by classic cartoons and Georgia O’Keeffe’s landscape paintings, artist Dan Colen’s ‘Desert’ series is its own kind of metaphor for the environment. The works, which Colen created over four years using a meticulous layering process, are a lush reinterpretation of the 1949 cartoons, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. In them, the characters compete in a never-ending rivalry that sees them both in their relentless pursuit for survival. Colen reimagines the series without its protagonists, focused instead on its environment — in this case, in the middle of the desert, on a tunnel that Coyote uses to attempt to trick Road Runner off a cliff. The paintings focus on the landscape around the tunnel, showcasing both the harshness and the beauty of the desert.

“It’s a matter of perspective or perception… you can just turn around and it can destroy you, then you can turn the other way and let it refuel you,” he said of the series.

This weekend, Colen and his team at are hosting their Spring Picnic, a fundraising event to combat food insecurity in New York. Read more about the event, and Sky High Farm’s mission, at the link in our bio.

Dan Colen, ‘The Trap,’ 2016-18, and ‘A Reason To Die,’ 2018.

07/05/2024

Jeff Koons is known for his larger than life works—perhaps none bigger than ‘Puppy,’ 1992. Originally constructed for a temporary exhibition in Arolson, Germany, the living sculpture features over 70,000 flowers, including marigolds, begonias, impatiens, petunias, and lobelias. Standing over 43 feet tall, the massive West Highland terrier has found a permanent home at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. A monument of “love, warmth, and happiness,” according to Koons, ‘Puppy,’ though manmade, is an environmental marvel that showcases the beauty of nature and the power of art as a catalyst for change. When placing the sculpture at the Guggenheim, Koons said he wanted it to inspire visitors with a sense of optimism, and instill “confidence and security.”

“Art to me is a humanitarian act,” he said, “and I believe that there is a responsibility that art should somehow be able to affect mankind, to make the word a better place.”

Jeff Koons, ‘Puppy,’ 1992.

01/05/2024

It’s May 1, and summer is just around the corner. To celebrate the season, artist John McAllister debuted his new exhibition, ‘sometimes splendid seeming…stellar even…ripping,’ at James Fuentes in Los Angeles. The exhibition consists of various oil-based landscapes and still lifes that capture the “temporal and symbolic cycles of nature,” said the artist.

Using the forests of Florence, Massachusetts, as his inspiration, McAllister’s work focuses on the idea that nature is always in a constant state of flux. Taking a look into how the world changes, visually, as spring and fall begin, the two seasons disrupt the stillness of winter and what McAllister calls the “thrum of summer.”

Visit our website to read more about the exhibition, and how McAllister examines the ways in which we experience nature.

John McAllister, ‘fathoms found sounds abound,’ 2024.

12/04/2024

To celebrate trailblazing anthropologist and environmentalist Jane Goodall, non-profit Vital Impacts has teamed up with the on an exclusive print sale.

“Jane Goodall did more than just redefine our understanding of the relationship between humans and animals—she shattered barriers and opened doors for women everywhere,” says Vital Impacts founder .

On sale now through May 31, with profits supporting the Jane Goodall Institute, ‘The Nature of Hope: 90 Years of Jane Goodall’s Impact’ brings together work by 90 female photographers who are breaking new ground in their field, inspired by the work of Dr. Goodall.

“Photography is an incredible tool for capturing both the beauty and fragility of our natural world… Photos and stories that showcase successful solutions give people hope, and in the face of environmental challenges, hope can inspire action.”

Read more about The Nature of Hope here: https://blackbookpresents.com/stories/ninety-female-photographers-join-together-to-celebrate-jane-goodalls-90th-birthday/

Jane Goodall, Self Portrait. Ami Vitale, Back to the Wild. Krystle Wright, Salty Sea Dogs. Tiina Itkonen, Qimmit, Savissivik, North West Greenland, 2018. Michelle Valberg, Spirit Bear Barney. Daisy Gilardini, The Hug. All photos courtesy of Vital Impacts.

03/04/2024

Doug Aitken has been referred to as a “landscape artist who builds on the traditions of the past with a range of new media, responding not only to the physical environment but the virtual one created by communications technology.” His work, which ranges from photography, to sculpture, to video and installation, uses technology to engage with nature in a distinctly modern way, using time as a guide in both contexts. In nature, time moves slowly, mostly unchangeable by human intervention. In the modern world, humans move at an ever-increasing speed, and technology is often the key—man-made and made to feed man’s insatiable appetite. Aitken, in his work, uses technology to document both paces, capturing the stillness of nature in order to reframe it for his viewers. “It’s very easy to lose track of the environment around you, to lose touch with the present,” he’s said. His work seeks to change that, reminding viewers of the beauty of nature.

Doug Aitken, ‘I’ll be right back…,’ Aperture series, 2019. Earthwork, Aperture series, 2019.

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