Eyeminded: living and writing contemporary art

Abstract

a drawing by Charles White (Move On Up a Little Higher, 1961) and a painting by Al Loving (Cube 27, 1970) were sold by Swann Galleries in New York.Swann is known for its auctions of art by African Americans as well as ephemera, documents, and material culture relating to black life.Prices were solid, only beginning to show the effects of the current economic downturn.For me these two pieces signified something somewhat outside the strict register of monetary gain or notable historical fact.These were works of art made by my friends' parents, people I grew up with, hung out with, learned about life with.They signal the parameters of the community in which I was born, raised, and became an intellectual.In my world, art is not only part of history-even a living history-it is part of and makes community, it is part of and makes family.What I want to think about here is how art objects, and the activities around their making and display-in exhibitions, homes, studios-as well as their materiality and life, are integral to forming relationships, connections, and kinship among sometimes diverse constituencies.How is art a connective force, a glue between people, creating the sense of community whole but also of family and affiliation?Indeed how does the circulation of art forms in public and private arenas create dialogues and sites of collectivity, personal and communal meaning, and how are these formations part of how we craft individual and larger social and political involvements?How do objects coalesce a public, create a life for artists and audiences and a circle of friendships from the particular to the collective?In what ways does

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