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statement
My work examines the practice of masquerade and its role in relation to conceptions of identity and power by depicting scenes of figures meticulously drawn in gouache, watercolor, and ink on paper. The figures in my work are selected from various sources, societies, and time periods and are composed to create a tableaux influenced by the ideas of James Hillman, Joseph Campbell, and mythmaking in general. Campbell's monomyth is a myth that is found through out the world, familiar to all (as in the hero myth) but with slight cultural/regional nuances. I find monomyths compelling in that they can bring understanding to viewers unfamiliar with other cultural norms. My work does not illustrate any specific myth but seeks to provoke critical thought regarding current attitudes and conflicts within the terms of universal stories.
I am particularly interested in the various permutations of societal practices that engender power hierarchies. The religious and ethnic nuances of power -- who are the meek, who are the shameless, and when do the roles interchange? Societal practices of masquerade, uniforms, religious dress, etcetera muddle conceptions of power and identity. It is provoking how a disguise (even a uniform) engenders the wearer powerful through his or her clandestine anonymity. Even more disturbing is the disguise's paradoxical virtue of allowing the concealed individual to be his or her authentic self. Which identity is authentic, the intrinsic self or the identity acquired through masquerade or do they create a third identity through a blending of the two?
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ART FAIRS
2008
SCOPE Miami, Curator’s Office Booth, Miami, FL
SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2009
Conceal Project, Curator's Office, Washington, DC
2007
Paintings by Dawn Black & Lori Larusso, Chesapeake Art Gallery, Bel Air, MD
Veils and Lamentations, City Arts Gallery, CCSF, SF, CA
2005
Interlaced, Kunstoffice, Berlin, Germany
Black and Gold, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
H-Hour, Oculus Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
2001
Trust the Pyro Techies, Eve Drewelowe Gallery, Iowa City, IA
Iron Folds, Bryon Burford Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2000
Whatever You Love You Are, Byron Burford Gallery, Iowa City, IA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2009
MASKED, Studio 33, Baltimore, MD
2008
Self Evident: Contemporary American Self-Portraiture, MSU, Morehead, KY
2007
Faculty Show, Los Medanos College, Pittsburg, CA
Combined Talents, Florida State University Museum of Art, Tallahassee, FL
TVAA National, Irving Arts Center, Irving, TX
Juror: Andrea Karnes, Curator, Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art
Transgressions, Reynolds Gallery, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
2006
Bay Area Annual, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Juror: Karen Kienzle, Curator of Exhibits and Collections, de Saisset
Museum, SCU
Faculty Show, Los Medanos College, Pittsburg, CA
3rd Annual National Juried Exhibition, Novato Art Center, Novato, CA
Juror: Frances McCormack, Professor, San Francisco Art Institute
Pretty Girls & Robots, Upstate Artists Guild, Albany, NY
2005
Faculty Show, Los Medanos College, Pittsburg, CA
Fresh Greens, Shaw Center for the Arts, Baton Rouge, LA
2004
No Dead Artists, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Blue, Louisiana State University Art Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
Storytellers, Los Medanos College, Pittsburg, CA
White Light Night, Red Shoes Center, Baton Rouge, LA
2003
Endless Summer, LSU Art Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
2002
MFA Thesis Show, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA
Midwest Ticket, Gallery 119, Chicago, IL
2001
Vertebrates are Strong, Linn Street Gallery, Iowa City, IA
Summer Painting, Mandala, Oxford, IA
The Big Show, Checkered Space, Iowa City, IA
2000
Appendage, Eve Drewelowe Gallery, Iowa City, IA
Science Fair, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA
1997
Works on Paper, LSU Union Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
Juror: Starr Figura, Assistant Curator, Dept. of Prints and Illustrated Books, MOMA
BFA Exhibition, LSU Foster Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
1996
Women Artists Exhibition, LSU African American Cultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
2009
Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE (alternate)
EXHIBITION CATALOGS
2009
Masked, Exhibition Catalog
2007
TVAA, National Exhibition Catalog
Combined Talents, Florida International, University of Florida Museum of Art Press
REVIEWS
2009
Elaine King. “Dawn Black, Washington DC” Art Papers, May/June, 2009
Brett McCabe. “Hide and Seek,” Baltimore City Paper, June 17, 2009
Kriston Capps. “Dawn Black’s Surreal Sociology,” www.artinamerica.com, March 3, 2009
Jessica Dawson. “Masks and Costumes: A Curious Coverup,” The Washington Post, February 27, 2009
Jean Lawlor Cohen. “Masquerade,” Where Traveler, March, 2009
2007
Larry Simpson. “Artists Challenge status quo at City College Gallery
Show,”
The Guardsmen, Vol. 143 Issue #4, March 14, 2007
2005
Naomi King. “Black, Gold: fresh, polished talent,” The Maroon, April 8, 2005
2004
D. Eric Bookhardt. “Nine Lives,” Gambit Weekly, Vol. 25 No. 36, September 7, 2004
Charles Powell. “Storytellers Speaks through Art,” Los Medanos Experience,
January 30, 2004
AWARDS AND HONORS
2007
Exhibition Honorarium, Transgressions, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
2006
3rd Place Award, Northern Art League of California, Novato, CA
2001- 2000
Madison Scholarship, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Teaching Fellowship, University of Iowa, IA
1997
Cum Laude (GPA 3.75) BFA, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
1996
Louisiana Arts League Award, Baton Rouge, LA
EDUCATION
2001 University of Iowa School of Art and Art History, Iowa City, IA
MFA Concentrations: Painting and Sculpture
2000 Scoula di Graphica, Venice, Italy
Printmaking Studio Summer Program
1997 Louisiana State University School of Art, Baton Rouge, LA
BFA Concentration: Painting
1994 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Domestic Student Exchange Program (2 Semesters)
LECTURES
2009
Gallery Talk, Curator's Office, Washington DC, DC
2007
Gallery Talk, Chesapeake Art Gallery, Harford College, Bel Air, MD
Artist Lecture Series, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA
Panel Discussion, Transgression Exhibition, University of the Pacific,
Stockton, CA
2002
Artist Lecture Series, Associated Women in the Arts, Baton Rouge, LA
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