Sun Ra 2012

Curator: This striking piece is David Michael Hinnebusch’s “Sun Ra,” completed in 2012, utilizing a mixed-media approach that leans heavily into acrylic paint on a mural scale. Editor: My initial response is pure energy. There’s a raw, almost frenetic quality to the application of paint. The color choices are bold and there's something vaguely Afrofuturistic in it, despite the painterly gesture. Curator: You've touched upon several vital aspects. Hinnebusch is deeply involved with street art and graffiti aesthetics; his work investigates the boundaries between intentional expression and the spontaneous marks of urban environments. How do you see those tensions playing out here? Editor: Well, it feels deliberate yet improvisational. We see what appears to be a constellation of figures interacting on this surface. Yet their faces, their bodies are suggested, broken apart in color planes that are raw, direct in a manner suggestive of a postmodern and street-smart deconstruction. In many respects, this invites broader conversations around Black identity, space, and representation. Curator: It is compelling to view "Sun Ra" through the lens of Black identity, indeed. Considering the subject shares a name with the avant-garde jazz musician and philosopher, known for his cosmic and Afrocentric themes, do you perceive a purposeful reclamation or reinterpretation of historical narratives in Hinnebusch's piece? Editor: Undoubtedly. By layering techniques common in street art upon figures seemingly engaged in their own symbolic rituals underneath the bold sunlight form, Hinnebusch invokes a new reading into postmodern culture and aesthetics while touching on aspects of politics. Curator: What do you take away from Hinnebusch's exploration here, particularly in the socio-political discourse about identity? Editor: It demonstrates, again, art's powerful agency to rewrite, reclaim, and, honestly, reimagine historical narratives in dynamic new visual lexicons. The effect on viewers will not be negligible. Curator: Exactly. This work stands at an intersection. Thanks for sharing your insights on “Sun Ra”. Editor: My pleasure, it always provides food for thought.