Dickson's paintings all have a personal, intimate feel to them. Much of her work focuses on everyday people and subjects. During the artists' talk in Kadema Hall on January 27th, Dickson described her fear of certain places or things as being the inspiration for many of her paintings. For example, during the 1970s in New York, she said she was afraid of and intimidated by places like night clubs and peep shows, so she chose to depict places like these in her art. In Pump Up the Volume!, Dickson's paintings are focused on portraiture instead of nightlife and specific environments. For example, several of her painted portraits dot the wall with the show title, and each portrays a unique individual (or a couple in one, a dog in another). The placement of the oval-shaped paintings and the fact that they are interspersed throughout the gallery seem to add a playfulness that complements the upbeat quality of the graffitied show title and hip hop culture as a whole.
The oval shape of Dickson's portraits is also evocative of "traditional" portraiture during the mid-nineteenth century to early twentieth century, such as cut-out silhouettes and photographic vignettes, which were often displayed in oval frames. Dickson's choice to use an oval shape and a black and white palette seems to connect her artwork with that of an earlier era in American history, but this could also be her original take (even a "face lift") on a frame shape that is often associated with "classic" portraiture as she uses contemporary subject matter and sitters. Some of the sitters' poses are non-traditional as well, such as the people break dancing in the B-Boy Head Spin portraits next to Lewis's The Message. As a whole, these portraits use a "traditional" oval shape as a vehicle, while revolutionizing it in a sense by depicting and celebrating youth culture, hip hop culture, and the everyday within its frame.
Lewis's artwork also explores the different parts of hip hop culture, while adhering less to portraiture like Dickson's paintings. In The Message, no people or figures are to be found in what looks like a partially demolished, run-down block. Two of the buildings in the foreground still stand, their exteriors covered in boomboxes that cry out in tandem. The boomboxes on the left building scream in a speech bubble, "It's like a jungle SOMETIMES it makes me wonder," while the ones on the right building yell out, "How I keep from going UNDER." The presence of speech bubbles indicates that this is actually an inhabited low-income neighborhood. Lewis's career as an artist was up and coming in the 1970s, and during this decade, New York was rampant with crime, political corruption, racial tension, and other societal problems. Run-down neighborhoods like the one shown in The Message would have been a common sight, and the image in the artwork, whether or not it is from the 1970s, still has relevance today as these types of neighborhoods continue to exist. The speech bubbles of the two buildings attests to the overall hardship of living in this sort of environment, and their exclamations, while sounding sarcastic and jaded, also have an edge of optimism. Today, such neighborhoods and their inhabitants are often ignored, but the shouted words in Lewis's artwork emphatically make the presence of the block and the people living there known.
Another work of Lewis's, Jails, Institutions, or Life - Your Choice also addresses the hardships of low-income neighborhoods. The printed panels and lit-up sneaker are a bit enigmatic, but the title indicates that the artwork is focused on the power of choice and that one's position to be in a jail or institution or "to have life" is controlled by the decisions he or she makes. Three of the panels show what looks like a fence or jail bars. One of the "jail" panels shows a hand holding some object; the other two seem to have a clearer message as one has a judge's gavel, while the other shows a pistol. The ones with the gavel and pistol imply that people do not wind up in jail by chance; the choice is theirs. The panel with the hypodermic needle and wine bottle sends a similar message, where it is an individual's choice to use drugs or become an alcoholic. A mysterious object is shown on the corner panel next to the one with the gavel. The remaining three panels show two buildings and a tree-like glass fracture. The broken glass and the stark color and line quality of the building panels further add to the downtrodden and serious tone of the artwork. The buildings might symbolize both a house and an institution, creating a connection between the two. A glimmer of hope is shown in the form of the lit-up shoe in the foreground that is placed in front of all of panels. Lewis's inclusion of a shoe suggests an overarching desire to run away from the broken lifestyle that the panels represent, but its brightness and central position also underscore an element of choice, as it seems to wait for the wearer to choose which route his or her life will take.
One last artwork by Lewis is The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (English, Spanish, Russian, Modern Chinese According to Google Translation). In this piece, Lewis presents an austere, black panel with the title's words, "the revolution will not be televised," in one column, which is repeated in Spanish, Russian, and Chinese, like the title suggests, in the other columns. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" was a popular slogan used by the Black Power movements of the 1960s and later influenced music culture (Gil Scott-Heron's song and poem, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (1970) is a notable example) and hip hop culture. The slogan criticized the ability and willingness of television and media to support the Civil Rights Movement, and it upheld the idea that those wanted the revolution to happen had to make it happen.
The title also seems to both command and resign itself to these words, alluding perhaps to the revolution of hip hop culture. If hip hop is being referred to, then the title speaks the truth, as "underground" cultures like hip hop are rarely televised and have to be self-supported by the people who are part of the culture. After learning about Fashion Moda, an alternative space for artists in the Bronx during the 1970s, I see a connection between it and this artwork. Notably, Fashion Moda had its facade painted with graffiti. This graffiti contained "Fashion Moda" in not only English but also Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. Overall, Fashion Moda and The Revolution Will Not Be Televised not only refer to and promote the international impact and appeal of hip hop culture but also speak to the fact that much of the culture's livelihood and support comes from its own members.
Show title for Pump Up the Volume!
Joe Lewis, The Message, Epson UltraChrome K3 ink on Hahnemühle paper, Edition of (center), and Jane Dickson, B-Boy Head Spin paintings that show people break dancing (clockwise from top left, B-Boy Head Spin 5, 1, 3, and 2).
Lewis, Jails, Institutions, or Life - Your Choice, cast glass, LEDs, and dye sublimation prints on polyester, Francis Spitta FJS Designs and Elizabeth Cote, Urban Glass, 2015.
Lewis, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (English, Spanish, Russian, Modern Chinese According to Google Translation), Epson UltraChrome K3 ink on Hahnemühle paper, Edition of 3, 2015.
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