Willis 'Bing' Davis: On the Shoulders of Those Who Came Before

0

Length0:04:46

Views: 2585

iPod

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0  License Embed
Embed Options

Embed:
Copy and paste the above html snippet to embed this video into your blog or web page.

Select a size:
  • Normal
    426 x 240
  • Large
    640 x 360
A Nugget Factory Production
0:00:07
This was one of the first video productions by the Indianapolis Museum of Art New Media team. Check out a blog post by them.

Jump | More
Willis “Bing” Davis
0:00:43
Who is Bing?

Jump | More
Bing Davis Art Studio
0:01:20
Find out more about Bing Davis and his studio.

Jump | More
found object
0:01:43
What does a “found object” mean in an art context?

Jump | More
African art
0:01:55
See works of African art from the Indianapolis Museum of Art collection.

Jump | More
Portable shrine
0:02:05
See other types of portable shrines.

Jump | More
Middle passage
0:02:10
Learn specifics about the Middle Passage.

Jump | More
New world
0:02:20
Do you remember your history? If not read more here…

Jump | More
Rosa Parks
0:02:48
Who was Rosa Parks?

Jump | More
The installation process for the exhibition
0:03:40
Read about various types of exhibitions.

Jump | More
Seven Spades by Donald Lipski
0:03:50
See another work composed of found objects in the IMA contemporary art collection.

Jump | More
another exhibition
0:04:00
Discover another exhibition by Bing.

Jump | More
IMA homepage
0:04:22
Go to the IMA homepage

Jump | More
0 / 13

Channels: African ArtBing DavisContemporary ArtExhibitions

Bing Davis is a contemporary artist who uses "found" objects to create beautiful works with ties to varying African peoples culture and art. This video was made for an installation of Bing Davis' artwork at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Bing Davis talks of his work, his past and his passions.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
Are you for real? Please answer this challenge to prove you're not a spam bot.

00:00:07 [Music]

00:00:21 And so I found that art not only is wonderful as a personal expression, but it's an ideal way to understand self and understand others.

00:00:41 Bing's show is a great example of a show in which an artist has taken parts of their culture and their personal lives and their surroundings

00:00:52 and their community and built it in as part of his work and as part of his thought process.

00:00:57 [Music]

00:01:17 In my exhibits and how I make my art, it's inviting for the average person because they see ordinary everyday things, just used in a different way

00:01:27 and so it's a little bit demystifies and takes away that fear of looking and then they begin to see how one person utilizes that common material.

00:01:38 I think what appeals to the average person is the use of familiar objects, and he turns them from being very familiar objects into something that looks like it's a part of a traditional African work of art.

00:01:56 All these kinds of rituals that were part of my past and part of many peoples past, can be picked up indirectly or felt when it's assembled in such a way.

00:02:07 This Portable Shrine in Homage to the Middle Passage is really about me giving honor and praise to my ancestors,

00:02:17 but also to those who did not make it to the new world and by my presence here that I know someone made it,

00:02:24 I don't know who it was but someone made it.

00:02:28 What I want the viewers to feel is something beyond the ordinary. I'd want them to stop, pause, reflect and then that reflection,

00:02:38 hopefully, give honor and praise to those who went before and those on whose shoulders they stand.

00:02:44 So, as people stand there, they may say I remember Rosa Parks, I remember Martin Luther King, I remember Malcolm X, whoever they want to recall, I remember grandma.

00:02:56 I think that with Bing his interest in addressing multiple ages and his interest in addressing people with varying amounts of art experience

00:03:08 or understanding about art, that whole sense of teaching and being a part of people's lives, making art a part of their lives, is sort of contagious.

00:03:19 And so it has been a whole journey of love and involvement in something that I just feel forcibly to be involved with and that's creativity and artistic expression.

00:03:30 So, it has followed me all along the way, and I just made that commitment in 5th grade...I don't know what else I am going to do, but I am going to make art.

00:03:38 [Music]