The Modern Art Notes Podcast

Firelei Báez, Black photojournalism

Episode No. 740 features artist Firelei Báez and curators Charlene Foggie-Barnett and Dan Leers. The MCA Chicago is presenting "Firelei Báez," [https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/firelei-baez-2/] the first North American mid-career survey of the artist's paintings and installations. Báez's work often explores the legacies of colonialism across the American and the African diaspora, in the Caribbean, and beyond. Her works are often explosively colorful and use complex and layered materials, including archival material and paint, to unsettle fixed categories and historical events. The exhibition was curated by Eva Respini with Tessa Bachi Haas; the MCA Chicago presentation was organized by Carla Acevedo-Yates with Cecelia González Godino and Iris Colburn. It is on view through May 31. A catalogue was published by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston in association with DelMonico Books. It is available from Amazon [https://amzn.to/3YZePGS] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/firelei-b-ez-daniella-rose-king/683afab2be51174e?ean=9781636811253&next=t] for $36-56. Institutions that have previously presented major Báez exhibitions include the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen, The Momentary in Bentonville, Ark., the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and The Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Foggie-Barnett and Leers are the co-curators of "Black Photojournalism" [https://carnegieart.org/exhibition/black-photojournalism/] at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. The exhibition presents work by nearly 60 photographers chronicling historic events and daily life in the United States between 1945 and 1984. The exhibition was designed by David Hartt. It is on view through January 19, before traveling to the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth. An excellent catalogue was published by the Carnegie. Amazon [https://amzn.to/3N7zHJA] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/black-photojournalism-deborah-willis/1b1f93379e2fe32b?ean=9780880390767&next=t] offer it for about $60. In addition to the video below, the CMOA has produced an outstanding podcast series [https://carnegieart.org/black-photojournalism-podcast/] to accompany the show. Instagram: Firelei Báez [https://www.instagram.com/fireleibaez/], Charlene Foggie-Barnett [https://www.instagram.com/oldfoggie5/], Tyler Green. [https://www.instagram.com/tylergreenbooks/]

Holiday clips: Dara Birnbaum

Episode No. 739 is a holiday clips episode featuring artist Dara Birnbaum. Birnbaum, a pioneering titan of video art, passed away this year at 78. "Her work is now displayed in museum collections around the world as the example of feminist video art," wrote curator and critic Karen Archey in an Artforum obituary. [https://www.artforum.com/columns/dara-birnbaum-obituary-karen-archey-1234733717/] Birnbaum's work often included pointedly feminist critiques of mass media, including of entertainment and journalism. Retrospectives of her work include "The Dark Matter of Media Light" at SMAK, the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst in Ghent, Belgium, and at the Serralves Foundation in Porto, Portugal, and "Dara Birnbaum Retrospective exhibition" at the Kunsthalle Wien in Austria and at the Norrtalje Konsthall in Sweden. Several of the Birnbaums discussed on this program are available online, including: * Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman [http://ubu.com/film/birnbaum_technology.html] (1978-79); * Kiss The Girls: Make Them Cry [http://www.vdb.org/titles/kiss-girls-make-them-cry] (1979) (clip); * Canon: Taking to the Street [http://www.vdb.org/titles/canon-taking-street] (1990) (clip); and * Walkthrough of Psalm 29(30) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65PdO4Dyf58] (2016) at Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris. This program was recorded in 2017 when Dara Birnbaum's Local TV News Analysis (1980), which Birnbaum made with Dan Graham, was included in "Breaking News: Turning the Lens on Mass Media," [http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/breaking_news/index.html] at the J. Paul Getty Museum. The exhibition examined how artists have used newspapers, magazines and televised news programs to consider media, news and the messages included therein. The exhibition was curated by Arpad Kovacs. Air date: January 1, 2026.

Holiday clips: Wafaa Bilal

Episode No. 738 is a holiday clips episode featuring artist Wafaa Bilal. Earlier this year the MCA Chicago presented "Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me," [https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/wafaa-bilal-indulge-me/] the first major survey of Bilal's [https://wafaabilal.com/] work. Across his genres-busting career, the Iraqi-American Bilal has made performances, sculptures and related digital presentations that have interrogated the United States' relationship with and conduct within Iraq, the Middle East, and broader geopolitics. Bilal's work also investigates the notion of cultural cannibalism, the ways in which the culture of one people may be used, disassembled, and consumed by another. "Indulge Me" was curated by Bana Kattan. An invaluable catalogue was published by the MCA. Amazon [https://amzn.to/42VvgWz] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/wafaa-bilal-indulge-me/b0ddb112a83649ef?ean=9781636811574&next=t] offer it for $20-32. Bilal's work is in the collections of museums as unalike as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art Qatar. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah UAE; the Art Gallery at NYU Abu Dhabi; and the 2015 Venice Biennale. For images, please see Episode No. 704. [https://manpodcast.com/portfolio/no-704-wafaa-bilal/] Instagram: Wafaa Bilal [https://www.instagram.com/wafaabilal/], Tyler Green. [https://www.instagram.com/tylergreenbooks/]

Wifredo Lam, Yoko Ono

Episode No. 737 features curators Beverly Adams and Jamillah James. With Christophe Cherix, Adams is the co-curator of "Wifredo Lam: When I Don't Sleep, I Dream" [https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5788] at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The exhibition includes more than 130 works made between the 1920s and 1970s, making it the most extensive Lam retrospective presented in the United States. "When I Don't Sleep, I Dream" argues that Lam, a Cuban-born artist who spent much of his life in Spain, France, and Italy, was a prototypical transnational artist. It is on view in New York through April 11, 2026. The exhibition catalogue was published by MoMA; Amazon [https://amzn.to/3Y26x0A] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/wifredo-lam-when-i-don-t-sleep-i-dream-anny-aviram/56d1ebfaf5ea78b7?ean=9781633451780&next=t] offer it for $60-70. Jamillah James has organized the presentation of "Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" [https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/yoko-ono-music-of-the-mind/] at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The exhibition is one of the most comprehensive presentations to date of the pioneering Fluxus artist, musician, and world peace activist. "Music of the Mind" includes over 200 works across a vast array of media, including performance footage, music and sound recording, film, photography, installation, and more. It is on view at the MCA through February 22, 2026. An exhibition catalogue was published in North America by Yale University Press. Amazon [https://amzn.to/3KY0JSM] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/yoko-ono-music-of-the-mind-andrew-wilson/85ae68b80140b685?ean=9780300276343&next=t] offer it for $38-47. Air date: December 18, 2025.

Dyani White Hawk

Episode No. 736 features artist Dyani White Hawk. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is presenting "Dyani White Hawk: Love Language," [https://walkerart.org/calendar/2025/dyani-white-hawk-love-language] a 15-year survey of White Hawk's career. The exhibition spotlights how White Hawk [https://www.dyaniwhitehawk.com/] (Sičáŋǧu Lakota) has foregrounded Lakota forms and motifs to challenge prevailing histories and practices around abstract art. The exhibition was curated by Siri Engberg and Tarah Hogue with Brandon Eng. The Walker has published an excellent catalogue; Amazon [https://amzn.to/4q4XwQl] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/dyani-white-hawk-love-language-candice-hopkins/1c8b0a01d3d699f1?ean=9781935963349&next=t] offer it for around $50. After closing at the Walker on February 15, "Love Language" will travel to the Remai Modern in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. White Hawk's work is in the collection of institutions such as the Walker, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. White Hawk was previously a guest on Episode No. 610 [https://manpodcast.com/portfolio/no-610-dyani-white-hawk-si-lewen/] of The MAN Podcast. Instagram: Dyani White Hawk [https://www.instagram.com/dwhitehawk/], Tyler Green. [https://www.instagram.com/tylergreenbooks/] Air date: December 11, 2025.