NEW YORK — Jeffrey Hargrave, an artist who grew up in Rowan County, has a solo project coming up in July in New York City.
Hargrave’s exhibit opens July 2 and can be seen from 6-9 p.m. at the White Box, 329 Broome St.
Called “Turn, 2011,” the project is a film produced by Greg Smith, director of Contemporary Art and Editions in Millburn, N.J., and filmed and directed by RRR Studios in New York. The video will be projected on two screens.
Hargrave says it was inspired by influential artists and composers, including Philip Glass, who did “Koyaanisqatsi” in 1983.
“‘Koyaanisqatsi” is a Hopi word for crazy life, life in turmoil life out of balance, Hargrave says, and it’s “so appropriate for the work I’ve created,” work that has taken on new meaning with the death of Jimmy Hurley, who, Hargrave writes, was “a source of unconditional love and support for me for well over 20 years. “
“Turn” is comprised of two separate yet unified video projections, Hargrave says. They are images of the artist, the first head to shoulder painted in black makeup. The second uses the same format but presents the artist in white makeup.
It’s a commentary, Hargrave says, “on society and its division between races and identity or a statement of how we’re all the same….”
Hargrave has dedicated the video to Hurley’s memory.
The project is part of a series of one-night exhibitions curated by Isaac Arden and shown at White Box Gallery on New York’s Lower East Side over a three-month period.
For more information, call 212-714-2347 or email info@whiteboxny.org.