[Announcer] Funding for The Art Show is made possible by the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation, the Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation, the George & Margaret McLane Foundation.

Additional funding provided by and Viewers Like You.

Thank you.

In this edition of The Art Show, reflecting on the past, present, and future of Black creativity, (upbeat music) A printmaker retires from teaching, and the Beatles "Get Back" in Cleveland.

It's all ahead on this edition of The Art Show.

(upbeat music) Hi, I'm Rodney Veal and welcome to The Art Show, where each week we provide access to local, regional, and national artists and arts organizations.

The Cincinnati Art Museum recently curated a series of exhibits and happenings to bring Black artists together in conversation.

Inspired in part by the book "Black Futures," a collection of images, essays, memes, poetry and more from Black creators, the series culminated with a site-specific dance work by Dayton choreographer Countess V. Winfrey.

Let's take a look.

(mellow music) The inspiration for the Black Futures Series was very much the artists who are featured in those exhibitions, so the 14 photographers who are the founding members of the Kamoinge Workshop, as well as the painter and curator and scholar, David Driskell.

Everyone involved was not only an artist in their own right, but also really important figures in terms of mentoring other people who were coming up as artists, as well as having a really deep scholarly engagement with the history of Black art in the United States and abroad.

All of those aspects of the artists that we are featuring were essentially our jumping-off point for what we could do to bring those ideas to life in Cincinnati now, to think about what the past means to the present, and what the future might look like, if we're thinking about it through the lens of Black creativity.

One of the things that we imagined within the framework of the Black Futures Series was that we wanted for the museum to directly support the creation of new work by a Black artist that would embody the messages that we were thinking through, but also that would be an opportunity for someone to think through their own practice and grow.

And as we were talking about what that could look like, I knew that it should be dance.

(lively dance music) I have my own experiences working as a performer, as a choreographer, and so we wanted work that would be site-specific, that would be designed specifically to engage audiences in the art museum spaces.

To take the audience on a journey, not to perform or illustrate a journey, but to really connect with the audience and draw them through the performance.

When I saw this proposal, I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is a dream," because I already have a relationship with loving museums and loving artwork and I love dance, obviously.

That's what I do, and the fact that I can bring the two together was just extraordinary to me.

So I was like "Oh, we're about to, I'm about to just play, this is just gonna be fun."

Five, six, seven, go.

Two.

With site-specific work, choreographically, you have to think differently about how the audience is seeing the dance, how the dancers are dancing in the space and how they interact with the space and how do you make the maximum value of the dancing and the space so that it feels like there's a symbiotic relationship, and not just that we're trying to create the stage outside.

(lively music) I thought about what this project was about, and it's about Black futures.

And when I thought about who I wanted to cast, I was like, well, the younger dancers, they are the future.

So I thought that artistically, that they would bring a willingness and a freshness to this creative process that it really needed, and I'm so glad that I did, because I think that I could really see them grow throughout the process of working on this work.

So I'm glad that they dove in with me and we got to do this together.

(lively music) "Had it not been for those Black lives, beyond their flavors of soul food and style."

As I was thinking about this project, I knew I would probably want some spoken word in it, and I've been trying to work with Vanae for some years and the things that I admire about her is her complete investment in whatever she's doing, if she's singing, acting, dancing, writing, creating, whatever the thing may be, she's completely invested artistically, and so her maturity and experience really kind of brought so much treasure to this project, in particular, because it just felt like she was talking to the audience, but also she was saying these things that felt like she was from the future.

And so, as we talked about creating this character for the show, she just immediately could dive in to what that was, and was able to bring all the things that she brings as an artist in general to this project.

I sat down in one of the rehearsals the dancers had and that, I just was going, I was going, I think it was a groove, an unconscious spirit, an unconscious bond there that I felt, watching Countess and them develop the eight counts that they had, but that day had helped me put pen to paper.

It was like liquid, it was so fluid.

I feel like everybody can connect with the arts, and dance brings a lot to life, things that you never would think about.

We just have to keep doing these types of performances so people can see that this isn't unusual.

Art is art, there's no top on it and the walls are getting knocked down every day.

(uplifting music) [Countess] I know it can be a little strange working with family, but it's been really lovely to embark on this journey with my brother, Wesley Winfrey.

He composed the music and it's like we've really gotten to put our artistic energies together in one sense, and I think because we do have such a good connection outside of our art, it just transferred into our art in a very seamless way, and so, this museum project is actually the fourth project that we've done together.

When we started collaborating together for the first time, we automatically had this open sense of dialogue and this open line of communication, which is extremely helpful in the creative process, so I think we kinda had an advantage of growing up together.

The idea was to give each section its own musical character, and we really wanted to play with historic facts as well as some creativity.

We really wanted to show the gamut of the African American experience, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

So we show that we were kings and queens pre-slavery and that the ultimate goal is to get ourselves and to get the rest of the world to understand that we are still kings and queens, even through our present time and our past and our current struggles.

So that was just a little musical nod to this full circle.

(lively music) I really hope the audience was able to listen to the music and have their emotions solidified by the music.

So you're seeing this powerful choreography and hopefully it's just supporting what you're seeing in front of you.

(soft music) [Countess] There is nothing like being able to work with people who are down for your vision.

That is a dream, and having everybody just on board with trying to make it happen, even the Cincinnati Art Museum, everything I wanted to see happen, the museum was able to make it happen and they were very artistically accommodating.

And so, for everybody to be on board for something that feels like a very vulnerable thing to do, which is to put your voice out there, is like, I couldn't ask for anything different.

It was a really great experience to be able to be in the museum.

(people cheering) If you'd like to learn more about this or any other story on today's show, visit us online at cetconnect.org or thinktv.org.

Now let's travel west.

For more than 30 years, artist Mark Sisson has taught printmaking at Oklahoma State University.

As he prepares for retirement, he reflects on a lifetime of work both in and out of the classroom.

Here's his story.

(lively chaotic music) He's like this weird genius.

He knows everything under the sun.

I know that loves printmaking.

A rich trove of interests.

Bicycling, unicycling, telescopes...

He's an amateur astronomer.

Stamp collecting.

He's one of my favorite people to listen to.

Uh, diarrhea of the mouth.

(woman laughing) He can talk on any subject.

Like once he gets going, he can't stop talking.

Well, Mark Sisson is an artist, I think that's clear.

Well, who am I, right?

Hello, my name is Mark Sisson, and I teach printmaking.

(upbeat music) I've had people say, "Oh, well, he's an iconoclast," like I'm attacking the very structures of our society, but I've had other people call me a moralist.

So that seemed like a pretty broad spectrum I'm covering there.

And I'm all right with them thinking either one of those things if they want.

The thing I like about printmaking is there's a kind of a magic to it in some ways, there's a mystery to it in some ways.

Try to put a little more light on when possible.

And I always have to take my glasses off for this part.

It's fraught with possibility, and it's also fraught with perils.

Because you don't know exactly what you're gonna end up with in the end.

I'm interested in human beings as social animals, as political animals, and I thought, well, I'm gonna do portraits, but I'm gonna do portraits where the way they're gesturing, what they wear, is really gonna speak to current events, things that are going on right now.

This piece here was about trickle down economics and sweatshop labor.

This work here really is dealing with sexual assault on campus.

This is a portrait of Cameron Richardson, "Peace Piece".

Cameron is a former student, and it speaks about Black Lives Matter, but I think more in general speaks about the value of access to the ballot box.

It's interesting for me that your models for your stories were chosen from people that you know in your immediate community, some students.

-Yeah.

-Some fellow faculty.

Yeah.

And you kind of put them in a different light.

If they had said no, I didn't really have a backup plan at that point.

I did this self-portrait with my cat Vango.

Vango was my favorite cat and I knew he was dying, and I had dug a hole in the backyard to bury him.

It took a long time to do this work because it was really painful.

I put it away, it's still hard for me to look at.

With a razor blade.

Depending on the amount you want to do, we could take a wire brush and- Mark Sisson is our printmaker, and as such, he teaches all the classes in printmaking.

He's extremely knowledgeable, and a lot of our students haven't really ever met anybody like him.

And so our students are completely fascinated by him.

Printmaking requires what we affectionately call a matrix.

It's indirect.

Painting's direct.

You grab some paint, put it on a brush, put it on a canvas.

And that's why you need students who are OCD, you need people who really are compulsive.

I saw that there was a printmaking class and I was like, "Ooh, I really want to take that class."

I'm doing ten colors, and you work lights to darks.

I mean, you have to be patient with this stuff.

You can't rush into anything.

The best students always make this worthwhile.

It's not just a one-way street, where I pour a bunch of information down their throats and then they go and they produce these brilliant things.

There's a lot more give and take, I think, than people understand.

It is hard to imagine leaving.

It is hard to imagine moving on to a different chapter.

And I will miss being around here and being around my colleagues and the support staff and the students.

Mark has been my sounding board and ally if you will.

We all have people that help us get through situations and I will miss him greatly, for sure.

And the thing that I'm also gonna miss for our students, he's just really a fantastic artist and teacher.

He gets in there and helps students see how to draw.

And when you look at the work that they're able to accomplish during a semester in his class, it's phenomenal.

When I first came to OSU was in August of 1989.

Prior to that, I'd never lived south of the Mason-Dixon line.

But now I've lived here longer than I've lived anyplace.

And so this, in a way, is my home now.

It feels like that.

Just because I'm retired now, I mean, it's not like a lot of jobs where it's like, oh, what am I gonna do, go play golf?

That would, to me, would be the worst nightmare in the world.

The art part of it stays.

I mean, this is just who I am at this point.

And so, for whatever that's worth.

(laughing) Did you miss an episode of The Art Show?

No problem!

You can watch it on demand at ceconnect.org and thinktv.org.

You'll find all the previous episodes, as well as current episodes and links to the artists we feature.

Our last story takes us to Cleveland.

Earlier this year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened an exhibit that immerses visitors in the vibrant world of the Beatles.

Let's step into the studio with John, Paul, George, and Ringo to experience firsthand one of the most iconic musical moments of the 20th century.

Time to grab a ticket to ride and check it out.

(upbeat music) [Reporter] We got a behind-the-scenes look at the new Beatles exhibit from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that aims to help visitors get back to a pivotal moment in rock history.

More than four years in the making, this immersive experience was curated to complement Peter Jackson's 2021 docuseries "Get Back".

♪ Get back ♪ ♪ Get back ♪ ♪ Get back to where ♪ We hit upon "Get Back", Peter Jackson's docuseries, as a very worthy project that we could curate and build an exhibit that would complement his epic docuseries.

It's footage that was shot originally, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, for the "Let It Be" film, which was a period, it was a piece, a moment in time that was captured and delivered.

But the chance for a filmmaker today to re-watch the raw, sort of see a different story within it.

And then what it comes back to is you're telling a story, he's telling a story of these four artists that we all know so well, but he's giving you a different view.

-♪ Don't let me down ♪ -The exhibit brings you into the studio during rehearsal sessions with The Beatles and puts you right on the rooftop for that legendary 1969 concert, the last public performance of the band.

♪ Don't let me down ♪ The goal of our exhibit was to make it an immersive experience, bring you closer to The Beatles during that period in '69 than ever before.

Then the others, they're larger than life.

So onscreen, they're bigger than you or I.

And you really feel it and it transports you in a magical way.

♪ Who she done me ♪ The rooftop concert at Apple, that was The Beatles' final public performance as a band, and we want you to feel as if you're on the rooftop with them.

'Cause it just feels like you are really there on top of the rooftop.

I mean, the TV curves around like that.

And the sound, I mean, I don't know if you saw me over there.

I was bopping, I was like, "Oh my gosh.

It feels like I'm there."

♪ Don't let me down ♪ We're there, we're on the rooftop in London.

That was amazing.

And just the fact that it was the last performance that they had, and that people just came out of their offices, and the one guy was annoyed.

Walking through the exhibit, you can see instruments, manuscripts, records, and clothing that were used by The Beatles, all loaned directly from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the estates of George Harrison and John Lennon.

How amazing is it that stuff survived 50-some years?

Usually that should have been thrown out.

Well, with The Beatles, they realized in the moment how much history they were making and they did keep a lot of things and everything in this exhibit has been meticulously maintained and documented.

Seeing Rocky, George's guitar was probably my highlight.

Ever since I found out about Rocky and him painting that, I got super excited, and when I saw they had it here, I got thrilled.

I thought it was cool seeing John Lennon's glasses in person.

I didn't think they would have that here.

I was surprised at that.

♪ Let it be, oooh ♪ I think it's amazing that over half a century later, it's still not even relevant, the music actually gets better when you listen to it fifty years later.

♪ Let it be ♪ ♪ I wake up ♪ The time with my son and seeing his smile as he's watching the rooftop band, it was great.

♪ Speaking words of wisdom, let it be ♪ [Interviewer] It's been over fifty years for this, sixty years since The Beatles auditioned, I believe, for EMI.

Why are we still talking about this?

It's the most impactful, iconic band in history, is one of the reasons.

The other one is the catalog is still vibrant.

People are still loving it and listening and using it, and I know it sounds like a cop-out, but it's The Beatles.

(laughing) You know, it's The Beatles.

So that's why we're still talking about it.

They're still hyper-relevant.

And I think still admired by musicians and fans.

And then it's generations upon generations, so there's this incredible connective tissue that The Beatles bring to the world of music.

(guitar music) The Art Show is going to be traveling around southwest Ohio.

You might see this logo in your neighborhood.

Follow the travels of The Art Show on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at thinktv and cetconnect, and check out The Art Show hashtag.

And that wraps it up for this edition of The Art Show.

Until next time, I'm Rodney Veal.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) [Announcer] Funding for The Art Show is made possible by the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation, the Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation, the George & Margaret McLane Foundation.

Additional funding provided by and Viewers Like You.

Closed captioning in part has been made possible through a grant from The Bahmann Foundation.

Thank you.