Jean Toche: Impressions froma Rogue Bush Imperial Presidency

A review of Jean Toche's new exhibition in the John Hope Franklin Center. Written for Chronicle's recess. 

Artist Jean Toche is known for his controversial and reactionary work, and his new exhibition at the John Hope Franklin Center is no exception. Titled Jean Toche: Impressions from the Rogue Bush Imperial Presidency, the collection includes expressionist photography coupled with vehement political statements and various news excerpts. Kristine Stiles, professor of art, art history and visual studies, curated the show, drawing the works from her own archives.

The collection is comprised mainly of four-by-five-and-a-half inch cards, each featuring a distorted photographic image displayed above a written statement from Toche. The works comment on a range of topics from excess consumerism to "Bush: Brutal Butcher of Fallujah!" Many of the photographs are abstracted images of Jean Toche himself, from dramatic and confronting close-ups of his face to pictures of his exposed backside. Toche uses his own portrait to add visual potency to his radical statements. On one card, Toche quotes a New York Times article and surmises the possibility of an unchecked Republican dominance, asking the question, "Another Thousand-Years Reich?" These words are paired with a photograph of Toche's back, with his bare buttocks visible under a black T-shirt marked with only one word: UTOPIA.

This is but a single example of Toche's mix of stark humor and radical political observances. The works do not just attack Republicans and the Bush administration. Toche also calls attention to ignorance and apathy among the American people, a growing and worrisome xenophobic attitude in Europe and an art market overrun by the principles of consumerism.

Impressions from the Rogue Bush Imperial Presidency is an exhibition that makes no amends or compromises and forces the viewer to react. Whether viewers agree with Toche or not, the works offer a personal and intimate summons to engage in today's sociopolitical debates.

Jean Toche: Impressions from the Rogue Bush Imperial Presidency is on display now through Nov. 29 at the John Hope Franklin Center Main Gallery.


Issue Date: 09/24/09 Duke Chronicle's recess

Datarock Creates Instant Dance Party at Local 506

Once Datarock took the stage, total cool groove took control. Breaking out in saxophone solos. Taking to the floor to dance with the audience. Synchronized choreography. It was an energized performance. 

The signature red jumpsuits were in full force. Thank god for small venues like the Local 506.

Karin Park and Esser-Great Openers for Datarock

Karin Park has a great haunting voice. Listen to her music on lastfm.

Esser was second to take the stage - a great electro-rock band from Britain. The lead singer had an awesome hair do too. But seriously, they had some great original music. Listen to it here 

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An Interview with Satch Hoyt

Last week I interviewed artist and musician Satch Hoyt at the Liberty Arts Center. Hoyt was working on a project for the Nasher's future exhibition The Record. From seeing Hoyt's work to hearing about the other artist who are participating, The Record sounds like it's going to be an amazing show. Way to go Nasher. Can't wait for August 2010. My interview for Chronicle's recess appears below:

Celestial Vessel

Media Credit: Kevin Lincoln/The Chronicle Satch Hoyt has spent this week working on a 16-foot piece called "Celestial Vessel" to be included in the Nasher's 2010 exhibition The Record. Hoyt incorporated red RCA vinyl for the piece.

Musician and artist Satch Hoyt is spending this week as an artist in residence at the Nasher Museum of Art. Hoyt is currently working on "Celestial Vessel," a 16-foot canoe incorporating RCA records and an original soundscape, for inclusion in the Nasher's August 2010 exhibition The Record. recess' Tina Siadak caught up with the artist this week to talk about pop culture, "Celestial Vessel" and more.

Your project, "Celestial Vessel," is part of the Nasher's upcoming exhibition The Record, which focuses on the culture of the vinyl record in contemporary art. What has been your personal experience with the vinyl record?

The vinyl is a signifier and transmitter of information. I grew up in the 1970s and there was a lot of politicized music. African-American culture was influencing the whole African diaspora. Also, there was a tactile ritual related to the listening experience you don't have now. No one knows who or what they're listening to today. Being a musician, I learned to play from listening to records.

Do you think the vinyl has a future in pop culture or is it more of a historical symbol now?

DJs are always going to want to use vinyl. So in DJ culture, we won't lose vinyl. As long as people are still tuned into that, vinyl will live. Independent musicians still strive to get that 12-inch white label record to DJs. There's something prestigious about that.

"Celestial Vessel" is a 16-foot canoe made out of vinyl records. What was your inspiration for creating this structure?

The vessel seeks to investigate various pertinent issues such as displacement, rootlessness and abandonment, also acknowledging the fact that belief systems and music held elements of the culture intact. Part of my mission is to mine history and find materials that no one else has used in the contemporary art world. These RCA Victor Red Seal vinyls were only released for about four years. I discovered them at a New York flea market three or four years ago. The canoe is a symbol of the Middle Passage and the African diaspora. It was the first vessel of slavery. Traders used canoes to transport slaves down the rivers to the slave ships.

How will the soundscape you are composing for "Celestial Vessel" play into the exhibition?

The soundscape hasn't been created yet, but for sure I will be sampling from some of these Red Seal records. I always do the soundscape after the work has been completed. The soundscape for "The Don Kingdom: In the Corner"-I was able to record Muhammad Ali on the heavy bag and Sugar Ray Robinson jumping rope. I mixed that together with DJ Spinna to create a hip-hop beat. "Celestial Vessel" is an extremely complex piece because it represents a timeline stretching from the slave ship to now.

You have exhibited work all over the world. Are there different cultural reactions to your art?

Some of my work would never translate outside of the United States. New York is the seat of the black intelligentsia -there's an arena there, a platform. The black intelligentsia has to come here. This is where there is reception. A piece like "Brown v. Board of Education" wouldn't resonate if I showed it in Germany. There isn't that knowledge. "Celestial Vessel" would resonate in the U.K., but not the same as in the United States.

What impact do you hope your work has on the viewer?

I am dedicated to making works with sociopolitical layers, but once it goes out there, it has a life of its own. But if people start asking question they can become enlightened witnesses. I like to think I am provoking with my work.

Hoyt will appear tomorrow at a public reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at Liberty Arts, 401-B. Foster St., as part of the monthly Third Friday festivities. The artist will also give a talk today at 12:30 p.m. in room 240 of the Franklin Center, 2204 Erwin Rd., entitled "Hybrid Navigations in a Galaxy of Souls."


Issue released: 9/17/09 Duke Chronicle's recess

Chronicle's recess Review of Cuban Revolution

Cuban Revolution opened this summer in Durham's American Tobacco District. I wrote a review of the restaurant for Chronicle's recess. It was a slightly odd dining experience but I do have cravings for that Havana Blast-a banana smoothie with a shot of espresso! Read the review below: 

What could be more relaxing than a gently humid, late summer's night spent in the beautiful and historic backdrop of the American Tobacco Campus? Add in the subtle presence of a '60s-era Latin soundtrack and things are starting to get therapeutic. As I took in the serene atmosphere of Cuban Revolution's outside dining section, I found the problem set-induced anxiety from which I had been suffering rapidly mambo away. And then the menu arrived.

A veritable explosion of colors and images, Cuban Revolution's menu is more than a bit overwhelming. Once the initial shock of visual overload subsides, a whole new confusion sets in while perusing the various political blurbs and listed plate options. A demand to bring home troops from Iraq is juxtaposed with an invitation to try a sizzling, pressed Cuban Sandwich. Another section lists U.S. casualties in various conflicts and then proclaims the policy hypocrisy of a 45-year Cuban embargo. I found if I wanted an empanada and a banana-espresso shake, I'd be ordering the "Bay of Pigs" with a "Havana Blast."

I'm all for camp and kitsch but that doesn't seem to be the effect Cuban Revolution's creators were aiming for in the conception of the restaurant or menu. Their mission (this is the Providence, R.I.-based chain's third location) states a desire to "set the stage for a return to an era when challenging the norm was the norm." In the end, however, the result is less counter-culture and more inappropriate-theme park.

As for the food, Cuban Revolution does offer a diverse selection of traditional tapas, pressed sandwiches and entrees. The standout dishes were the yuca fries alioli, a flavorful take on the traditional fry basket, and the croquetas (ham croquettes with remoulade). The "world's best" Cuban sandwich was filling, but left something to be desired in terms of flavor.

Unless you're beyond famished, the best dining strategy at Cuban Revolution is to forgo the heavier entrees and choose a selection of tapas. Also, go for one of the restaurant's tropical milkshakes, offered in flavors like guava, mango or hazelnut.

The inside of the restaurant feels more like a cocktail bar thanks to dramatic mood lighting, so if weather allows, stick outside for the food and then head inside for pitchers of sangria.

All in all, both the food and atmosphere of Cuban Revolution fail to invoke any type of fervor-political, gastronomic or otherwise. If you see me waving a Che Guevara flag and spouting Marxist philosophy on the Plaza, just note: it's not because of the garlic plantains.

-Tina Siadak  Issue date: 9/3/09 Duke Chronicle recess

Recess Review of Lump Gallery and Jerstin Crosby's New Show

I wrote an article a while back about Jerstin Crosby's new art show revolving around the Earth Liberation Front eco-terrorist group. The exhibition is at Raleigh's Lump Gallery. Sidenote: There was a large man dressed up as an oompa loompa at the opening...he wasn't part of the show. Read the review here .

WXDU 88.7FM: The Weekend Pump-Up

My new show starts this Friday. From then on, it's every Friday from 9am to noon. Tune in to hear upbeat jams to pump you up for the weekend!

Click here to stream the show online.

Motor Safety and Policing: Russian Style

Cutout Cop

Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times

In an attempt to improve the work of Russia's traffic police, the Krasnogvardeisky District branch of the All-Russian Automobilists Society has set up life-size photographic mockups of police officers, complete with batons, in order to encourage motorists to slow down.