tiff massey at detroit institute of arts
7 Mile + Livernois
“Tiff Massey creates installations, public art, and wearable sculptures inspired by adornment. Trained as a metalsmith, Massey scales up her jewelry to the size of architecture, creating sculptures that celebrate Detroit's evolving neighborhoods and the history of West African and Black American culture and style.
7 Mile + Livernois refers to the neighborhood at the heart of Detroit’s Black business and fashion district. It is also where Massey grew up, and the site of a new art and community space Massey is building that blends her craft with her drive for community kinship.
Massey’s work reimagines art’s role in the community and offers a vibrant, inclusive view of Detroit. Her art invites us all to celebrate our collective identity, ancestral flyness, and beauty.”
Massey’s work seamlessly integrates with pieces from the permanent collection, such as one of Donald Judd’s stacks and Louise Nevelson’s Homage to the World, that normally reside in these galleries. Black, matte walls serve to accentuate the green neon while perennial works remain quietly on customary white. Massey scoured every salon in town for these hair pieces leaving those shops temporarily bare.
Massey states ‘our hair is our crown’ presenting an instantly recognizable childhood accessory as inaugural adornment. Scaling up an everyday article reminds of Georgia O’Keeffe’s flowers where she was attempting to show the viewer significance and beauty in often overlooked commonplace objects.
Whatupdoe and 39 Reasons I Am Not Playing harken to Massey’s foundational in-your-face oversized jewelry that captured the art world’s attention. The stainless steel is distressed a bit with visible rivets reflective of the resilient strength that holds Detroiters together. There are 39 links in Massey’s massive chain, one for every year lived.
The IPO hoopla has since died down making for the perfect opportunity to view this remarkable exhibition. My inscrutable timing found curator Katie Pfohl—she’s everywhere lately. Love it! —escorting a small group through the installations allowing me to eavesdrop fascinating intel regarding Massey’s acquisition of materials as well as what it takes to mount a show of this magnitude.
“There are those who look at the early generations of this country from the turn of the century, the industrial era, as the great people of Detroit. Then, later on, in the post-World War II era, as those who reconfigured the city after the challenges that were experienced here.
But there is yet another generation that has manifested itself after we baby boomers. They are often disparaged and decried; they are often treated with contempt. The young men and women that inhabited this city when it was at the pinnacle of its devastation — and yet they carried on by creating their music, their art, and, in the case of Tiff, creating an entire articulation of the grandeur, the sheer magnificence of Detroit itself.” -Marsha Philpot
On view through May 11th at Detroit Institute of Arts 5200 Woodward Detroit
*images are mine
direct quote from museum materials
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As I take a much needed hiatus until January, I thank all of you for your support and have a blessed holiday!
FRIENDS OF DETROIT ART
SHOWS OPEN THIS WEEKEND
Brain Candy Monday 12/16 7P
Cannot wait to see this exhibit. Thank you for the insights, context and texture that only comes with research. Trips to the DIA nourish the soul.