Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Artist Robert Pruitt
Five Minutes, Five Questions
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art kicks off a special space-themed weekend on Jan. 18 with the next event in its Drinks and Discussion series. Speakers from the Amazeum, the Arkansas Balloon Group, the Arkansas Natural Sky Association and more will discuss art, space exploration and astronomy. The guest of honor and “Men of Steel, Women of Wonder” participating artist, Robert Pruitt, joins the roundtable to discuss the work of art he created to be launched into space the following day at the Space Project Celebration. Pruitt took a few minutes to answer these questions for What’s Up! ahead of his visit.
Q. What can you tell me about the piece you created to be launched into space?
A. Small assemblage work is the centerpiece of this project. I slightly altered a wooden Dogon figure, adding a covering of aluminum foil, an antennae and a makeshift suitcase containing an undisclosed package to be delivered to space. The Dogon are a people and culture from Mali who have a long relationship with stargazing. The symbols associated with this practice are a recurring presence in my work.
Q. How did its being launched into space impact the message you wanted the piece to convey?
A. Launching this charged cultural object into space is the message. Both the mission into the unknown and the return to this atmosphere communicate the possibility of creating new futures. Q. What do you envision as the future of the piece after the launch?
A. A weather balloon will carry the sculpture into near space, but it will return to Earth. Its journey upwards and its return will act as a catalyst for the conceptual meanings of the work. We are launching a type of African-American spiritual technology to carry out a survey mission. I am not at liberty to disclose what we will do with the object on its return.
Q. Your work is also part of the “Men of Steel, Women of Wonder” exhibition soon to debut at Crystal Bridges. Tell me about adding your perspective to an exhibit examining that comic book world. How does the black experience and narrative influence that conversation explored in the exhibition?
A. The mythology of most comic narratives are full of ideas of otherness. In this way they mirror the experiences of many cultures that struggle to fit into the prevailing narratives of much of our art, media and social landscape. The X-Men are racially antagonized outcasts. Superman is an alien in a foreign world constantly managing a dual identity, and The Silver Surfer endures a deep loneliness and longing for home that he cannot return to.
Q. What about the worlds of comic books, science and technology inspires you?
A. These “worlds” all function to create and contextualize the nature of our existence. They use creative strategies to reimagine the ways in which we live in the world. Comics (also sci-fi and fantasy) help us to reorient how we can perceive the actual world we live in. Science and technology often help us better understand and readapt the ways we live in the world. I find that they are useful in trying to reimagine our world and conceive of new types of futures.