Gallery on Dean (inside the restaurant Tavern on Dean) begins its fifth season with a provocative exhibit, “The Minstrel Show 2008,” a large solo show of paintings and drawings by Bed-Stuy resident Lasharn Yamel Cupid.
The show opens with a public reception for the artist, September 14 from 4-6 p.m. at the gallery, 755 Dean Street on the corner of Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights.
“My recent body of work addresses the ugly truth about most mainstream Hip Hop culture,” Cupid wrote. “When one examines the programming on BET or MTV, or listens carefully to any Hip Hop radio station, or looks around some local streets, it’s clear that the minstrel shows from the 1840s-1900s are alive and well. The black make-up, red mouths, banjos, and the inexplicable expression of love for “ol’ massuh” have all been replaced with oversized jewelry, drugs, sexism, violence, rapping, and material things. Concern about this is reflected in my work.”
The exhibition runs through November 2; Monday through Friday, 4-11 p.m. and Saturday and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. For information, call 718-638-3326 or email yikesart@yahoo.com.
