As The Saint Louis Art Museum readies itself to open The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Arts in the 21st Century, a lyric from the late Notorious B.I.G. came to mind for Audience Development Manager and exhibition co-curator Andrea Purnell.
“I think Biggie Smalls said it best,” Purnell said. “[You] Never thought that hip hop would take it this far.’”
Nearly three decades after Biggie’s lyrical props to hip hop in his 1994 breakthrough single “Juicy,” it has transcended into an art form in its own right. Popular culture has been remixed, with hip hop as the dominant underscore. And hip hop has flexed its influence in every other cultural arena, from fine arts to fashion and food.
On Saturday, August 19, less than two weeks after what was generally accepted as the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, The Saint Louis Art Museum will illustrate just how far hip hop has come by way of The Culture. More than 90 works from artists of color inspired by and in tribute to hip hop – including homage to Biggie and many, many others – will be featured in the exhibition, which is a collaboration between the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art.
“I think The Culture just illuminates the way in which hip-hop is so full of forms and varieties,” Purnell said. “And we have not had an African American show in the ticketed exhibition space at the Saint Louis Art Museum for over twenty years. It’s more than a big deal.”
In addition to Purnell, the curatorial team for The Culture includes Hannah Klemm, SLAM’s former associate curator of modern and contemporary art; Asma Naeem, the Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art; and Gamynne Guillotte, the BMA’s chief education officer along with St. Louis native Rikki Byrd, the BMA’S curatorial research fellow and Carlyn Thomas, the BMA’s curatorial assistant.
The Culture comes to St. Louis this Saturday on the heels of a triumphant showing in Baltimore from April 5 – July 16, which was sold out by the end of its run. The show will stay at SLAM for the rest of 2023 – and will feature robust programming that compliments the exhibit that will extend from the museum throughout the region.
“The Culture aims to connect the local and the global by centering historically marginalized voices, both through the works in the show, and also through robust community engagement and commitment to local partners,” said Min Jung Kim, The Barbara B. Taylor Director of the Saint Louis Art Museum and Naeem said in their joint forward for The Culture’s catalog.
True to form for hip-hop, the SLAM opening festivities for the exhibition will include closing off One Fine Arts Drive Saturday afternoon for a huge block party featuring St. Louis legends and influencers on the proverbial wheels of steel. The party will be in the same vein as when DJ Kool Herc became an instant icon at the now legendary back-to-school bash he held with his sister Cindy Campbell on August 11, 1973 in The Bronx – which is credited as the hip hop origin story.
The exhibition itself, however, is not a chronological timeline of hip hop through the lens of the visual arts. “As we started thinking about our project and how it would differentiate itself from the other projects, we thought, ‘What are we going to do differently to both add to that narrative and stand in our own space,’” Klemm said. “And what we came to was really centering the 21st century and really thinking about the last twenty years – and thinking about the ways in which hip hop, as a cultural phenomenon, has deeply impacted the way contemporary artists create things, how they think about the world and what they are putting out into the contemporary arts sphere.”
Being intentional about highlighting local artists from the hip hop scenes of Baltimore and St. Louis within the story of hip hop’s global presence was also crucial.
“In our work as a curatorial team, it became really important to us as we were thinking about the show to consider our own cities and all of the talents that lie within,” Purnell said. “Smino is one of the first images you see when you walk into the space here. The Baby Phat brand (created by St. Louis native Kimora Lee Simmons) is really saluted.”
A “so St. Louis” spin on Gordon Parks’ 1998 A Great Day in Hip Hop by Adrian Octavius Walker will most definitely be a hot topic.
A massive sculpture by Aaron Fowler pays tribute to the St. Louis hip hop footwear staple Air Force Ones – and through QR code technology gives a shout out to Nelly, the first breakout rap star of the 21st century.
Other St. Louis and Missouri artists include Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola, Damon Davis, Jen Everett, Kahlil Robert Irving, Shabez Jamal and Yvonne Osei.
“The story of The Culture is that hip hop has a lot to say,” Purnell said. “It’s nuanced, and it is so much more than just the music. It’s a way of life for many people.
And even if it is not for you, I hope that everyone who experiences the show can appreciate how much it means to other people – and how potent, how powerful the art form is.”
The SLAM Block Party will take place from 12 noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 19 along One Fine Arts Drive. The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Arts in the 21st Century opens August 19th and will continue through January 1, 2024 at The Saint Louis Art Museum. Tickets are free, additional information and related programming from community partners, visit www.slam.org.
