What is your Tar Baby?
2/24/2012 - 4/7/2012
Opening Reception & Meet the Artist: Friday, Feb. 24, 7-9pm
What do President Barack Obama, Adolf Hilter, Marilyn Monroe, Martin
Luther King, Jr. and Pee-wee Herman have in common? According to Atlanta-based artist Charly
Palmer, each has a “Tar Baby”. In this collection
of over 40 mixed media works, Palmer appropriates and reinterprets the tale of
“Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby” to address contemporary issues of bigotry,
racism and stereotyping. Yet, in
Palmer’s version it is no longer the archetypal trickster rabbit, but rather
civil rights leaders, entertainers, politicians, scholars, and African and
Native Americans who confront their tar babies. Each metaphoric “tar baby” represents a conviction
to a social cause, a sensitive situation or misguided belief that holds one
back. Palmer’s imagery is
poignant as it summons a deep emotional response, reaching the inner sanctum of
where our “tar baby” lies.
Opening reception: Friday, February 24, 7-9pm
Charly Palmer will be giving an Artist Talk on Thursday, March 8, at 6:30pm. He will be joined by curator, Myrtis Bedolla, and catalog essayist, Horace D. Ballard, Jr.
Charly Palmer's What is your Tar Baby? will run from February 24, 2012 to April 7, 2012.
Regular Gallery Hours: W-F 11am-5pm, Sat 11am-3pm, and by appointment
Learn more about the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery
