On View
Not on viewObject number1996/7.26
Hip Hop, Galveston, Texas
Artist
Earlie Hudnall Jr.
(American, 1946-)
Date1993
Mediumgelatin silver print
Dimensionsimage: 18 7/8 in. × 15 in. (47.9 × 38.1 cm)
sheet: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
sheet: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineArt Auction Fund
Exhibition History"Artists as Storytellers," KIA Nay Gallery (Feb. 12 - Nov. 10, 2000).
"Photographs from the Permanent Collection," KIA (Sept. 2003 - March 2004).
"It Speaks to Me," KIA School Commons (Feb. 3 - May 1, 2005).
"Energy and Inspiration: African American Art from the Permanent Collection," KIA Long Gallery (Jan. 13 - Apr 14, 2006).
"The Human Face: Portraits in Photography," KIA Long Gallery (May 5 - Aug. 28, 2007).
"Embracing Diverse Voices: African-American Art in the Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts," KIA Galleries 3&4(Oct. 3 - Nov. 29, 2009).
"Embracing Diverse Voices: 80 Years of African-American Art," KIA Traveling Exhibition, Bakersfield Museum of Art (Dec. 13, 2012 – Mar. 10, 2013).
"Common Ground: African American Art from the Flint Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the Muskegon Museum of Art," FIA, Flint, Michigan (Feb. 8 - Apr. 26, 2015), KIA, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (Aug. 21 - Nov. 15, 2015), Muskegon Museum of Arts, Muskegon, Michigan ().
"Embracing Diverse Voices: A Century of African-American Art," KIA Traveling Exhibition, North Carolina Central University Art Museum (October 7 - December 12, 2016).
"Unmasking Masculinity for the 21st Century," KIA Galleries 2-5 (September 24, 2022 - December 29, 2022)Label TextRehema Barber, Now
Earlie Hudnall, Jr. captures events and people in communities across Texas, Mississippi, and Georgia. Inspiration for documenting the lives of African Americans came from his father, an amateur photographer, and his grandmother, who scrapbooked to preserve their family’s history.
Hudnall presents one of many stories of Black boyhood in Hip Hop.Though attired and posed similarly to an adult, this is an exaggeration belying the adolescent desire to appear more mature. The young boy mimics a stance he has perhaps observed among older males. A backwards baseball cap, sagging and oversized jeans, combined with a gold necklace, enhance the illusion. While the image’s title conjures the attitudes and stylings of hip hop culture, it also requires closer scrutiny.
Hip hop is a form of music rooted in the happenings of the 1970s, created by Black men to convey the trials and triumphs of their experiences. Hip hop of the 1990s, the period reflected here,had transformed dramatically, impacting mainstream music and fashion. Today, hip hop is a 10 billion dollar industry that has expanded to include experiences from varying cultural backgrounds across the globe. Yet, this unique form of musical expression remains central to how African American youths and young adults affirm their lives and voice their frustrations and hopes
[from Unmasking Masculinity for the 21st Century
