J a s o n C o r d e r . paintings from the earth (tableaux de la terre)

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In September, 2006, the City Paper in Charleston put "The Couple At 20" on their cover for the Moja festival issue (Sept 27th). REVIEW: The Elementals: Chunky art meets spiritually-charged elegance in a two-man show The City's airy Waterfront Park gallery keeps things simple for its contribution to MOJA this year. Only two artists have been selected to reflect the diaspora, with functional blacksmithed art accompanying heavy-set non-representative mixed media work. So it's fortunate that Yaw Owusu Shangofemi and Jason Corder have enough versatility to keep this show interesting. Like Johnny Depp, Corder favors France as a destination for sensitive artistic types; he's recently put down roots in Les Landes. He brings an Afrophile's heartfelt perspective to the gallery: He was trained by Ousseynou Sarr, a Senegalese painter of note, and blends West African techniques with the progressive aesthetics of abstract artist Mark Rothko, the raw simplicity of Philip Guston, and the mixed media experimentation of Scotland's Boyle Family. Africa's a strong influence on Corder in other ways, too. Landscapes are represented in the sparse skyline of "Dielmo Village," bird's-eye views of farmland, and even worm's-eye views of underground chambers ("Serpentine.") They all include rich, dark, earthy colors with a predominance of browns and grays. Corder has fun with a series that follows a couple from their 20s through to their 80s. Granted, this is an abstract-looking couple with barely discernible heads, but the artist still manages to capture the atmosphere surrounding a decaying pair as he adds more cracks and mold to each picture, peeling away the perfect veneer that hides the ugly truths of "The Couple At 20." With materials like corn silk, sand, wood ash, and found objects at his disposal, Corder makes subtle comments with his art. "Africa Flag" incorporates a flat matchbox and pieces of a map and Arabic script; "Dielmo Village" includes a piece of packaging from a chain factory. Carefully segmenting many of his images with lines and curves, he challenges the viewer to make sense of his muddied ideas. Yaw Owusu Shangofemi's work is more straightforward, if only because the titles of his work are less cryptic. Thirty years ago he apprentice with revered local blacksmith Philip Simmons. Since then he's honed his skill as an ironwork sculptor, marrying utilitarian objects with more ritual concerns. It's impossible to ignore his "Ogun Man," a larger-than-life figure made up of mild steel and a car part or two. This chrome warrior appears to have a Dodge hubcap for a breastplate. A mixed media offering has been made to this god of iron and war, and he's a powerful introduction to Shangofemi's worlds of Yoruba iconography. His acknowledgment of the beliefs of the Yoruba, one of Africa's widest-ranging and most important groups, helps to elevate his handiwork to a more artistic level. But there's also fine craftsmanship on display, such as the fine serration on the tip of an "Ochosi Bow and Arrow." Useful art may be a contradiction in terms to some people, but here tables, a gate, and machetes can be ornate enough to be displayed and admired. Shangofemi continues to produce art that you can sit on, swing through, or use somehow; it's work that's easy to appreciate, whether or not it's hung in an art gallery. Curator Ade Ofunniyin has successfully programmed a visual lesson in African culture and ideology - Nick Smith From the Swarthmore Bulletin, September 2006 The Couple at 80 REVIEW: A resident of La Chalosse, near the Basque region of Southwestern France, Corder was one of two artists selected from 50 to exhibit their works at a show, Forging Spirits, in the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, Charleston, S.C., from Sept. 16 to Nov. 19. He trained under Senegalese artist Ousseynou Sarr in France, learning a West African earth- and glue-based technique that incorporates dozens of natural pigments along with collage, thick cotton string, and oil paint. Corder and his family later spent 5 months in Sarr's home village in Senegal, where he became more involved with the technique. Corder says of his art: "The paintings are sometimes like chronicles of places, like Senegal, Thailand, or La Chalosse. However, more often they are images of a more internal world - that of spirits, dreams, the dream world, and the Earth." HOME  BIO  SENEGAL PAINTINGS  CORSICA PAINTINGS  WORKS ON PAPER  PRESS  CONTACT  TREATISES  SWARTHMORE  LINKS