“Anyone can fly. All you need is somewhere to go that you can't get to any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying among the stars.” —Faith Ringgold
We started the Summer 2022 issue just as Russian troops were entering Ukraine and a new era of war in Europe. As it turns out, we’ve been thinking a lot about movement in recent years, not just as a restriction due to a pandemic, but the multifaceted nature of how we perceive the way we transport ourselves and our culture to another. There have been many wars, of course, but social media has presented an immediacy that forces us to confront the plight of the people of Ukraine and their subsequent mass displacement. Along with a pandemic and a fragile global supply chain, it has sparked new energy about the concept of movement in terms of stasis and activation. Talking about social justice, labor, refugees, self-care, self-realization, inclusivity and even cars, sports, dance, fashion and film all have aspects of movement at their core. Fortunately, artists are currently engaging in wide-ranging, critical conversations, interpreting what it means to get from point A to point Z.
The Summer 2022 quarterly is our opportunity to delve into movement as an evolving and elastic concept. Jenny Holzer, ever anti-authoritarian and the consumate representation of how and where we challenge power structures, is the epitome of moving language through our institutions and public spaces. Southern California’s Jaime Muñoz creates stunning airbrush works that feature his Toyoteria concept, highlighting social and economic inequality as he depicts migrants in Toyota trucks taking themselves to work each day, providing the lifeblood of our economy. The five Jewish Ethiopian artists who immigrated to Israel describe their exodus in stunning works that now appear in major contemporary art spaces, spurring more conversation about where and how we move. Designer Natalee Decker fashions self-described “fantasy mobility devices,” in speaking of liberation in their own practice and life. Alvin Armstrong’s majestically raw athletes pay tribute to sport and body in what he calls an attempt to evoke “rhythm paintings.” While John Fekner has moved throughout NYC as a street artist with bold aesthetics and streetwise poetry, ARYZ has reimagined the ancient ground of European churches, transforming them into a ballet of vividly colorful, contemporary energy. And then, of course, Faith Ringgold, epitomizes movement as transport to social and racial freedom— “I have watched freedom being restricted everyday of my life. I don’t mind struggling. At least, here in America you have the freedom to struggle.”
Perhaps that is the perfect way to think about movement in 2022, as an attempt and aspiration. Movement can be hope, empowerment, understanding, struggling, a search for freedom and an escape. And often, it's a desire and the implementation of change. This issue is our chance to look at how circumstances force us to examine ourselves and create ways to communicate, converse and take action. Here is where to begin. —Evan Pricco
