Krista Franklin Explained

Krista Franklin
Birth Place:United States
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:Kent State University, Columbia College Chicago
Known For:Collage, poetry
Awards:Cave Canem Foundation Fellowship

Krista Franklin is an American poet and visual artist, whose main artistic focus is collage. Her work, which addresses race, gender, and class issues, combines personal, pop-cultural, and historical imagery.

Early life and education

Franklin is originally from Dayton, Ohio. She received her BA from Kent State University, and her MFA in Interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago where, in 2013, she wrote her thesis titled The Two Thousand & Thirteen Narrative(s) of Naima Brown[1] that brought to life a girl changeling on the precipice of young adulthood and has received recognition for her work from such prestigious programs as the Arts Incubator[2] at the University of Chicago.[3] [4] She is based in Chicago, Illinois, where in 2007 she was the recipient of a Chicago Artist Assistance Program Grant for her art book SEED (The Book of Eve), which she says was based upon the dystopic visions of the award-winning African-American science-fiction writer Octavia E. Butler.[5] [6] [7]

Art

Franklin's artwork includes themes of surrealism and utopic and dystopic visions, with subtexts of black beauty, self-reflection, and the African Diaspora.[8] She has described her approach as both Afro-Futurist and Afro-Surrealist.[9] [10] She has stated, "Inspiration is a myth created to feed the romantic lure around artists and artistry. Art is thinking and labor."[11]

Her artwork has been featured in the television series Empire.[12] Her collages have also been used on the covers of several poetry collections, including John Murillo’s Up Jumps the Boogie (2010)[13] and Lita Hooper’s Thunder in Her Voice (2010).[14] She has also had her work published in American Studies,[15] Callaloo,[16] and Ecotone.[17]

Regarding her talent in the art of collage, Franklin said, "I learned the art of collage through watching my family make something out of nothing," she said, "That’s really where my collage aesthetic comes from. It comes from an idea of necessity, you know, how you make something beautiful out of scraps."[18] In one of her series exploring race and gender, particularly in the context of the grotesque, she used human hair as a main material.[19]

Poetry

Franklin's writing was influenced by the poets of the Black Arts Movement, including Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez.[20]

Her poetry is included in the anthologies The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order (Penguin Books, 1999)[21] and Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam (Penguin Books, 2001).[22] [23] She has had her poetry published in Black Camera.[24] In 2011, she was a featured performer as well as a celebrity judge at the Gypsy Poetry Slam held in Lexington, Kentucky.[25]

Exhibitions

Dreams in Jay Z Minor was a collaboration with Amanda Williams (artist) and centers around utilizing male figures as muses. It incorporated rap lyrics, bible quotations, and, at first glance, ostentatious visuals. The exhibition was held at Blanc Gallery in Chicago from October 5 to December 29, 2012.[26] [27]

Library of Love was an interactive exhibition, described as a “visual love letter to Chicago”, created in collaboration with Stephen Flemister, Norman Teague, and Raub Welch. It featured a mix-tape made for the event by Perpetual Rebel. It was on view at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park in Chicago, 2014.[8] [28]

Like Water was an exhibition at the Center for Race, Politics, and Culture (CSRPC), curated by Dara Epison, and ran from October–December 2015. The exhibition featured a fictional character who is a shape shifter and black woman, named Naima Brown. The character sheds her hair with each transformation. Franklin was inspired to create the character by Octavia Butler’s novel Wildseed. Additional collages were shown. Franklin gave an associated artist talk on October 23, 2015. .[29] [30]

Franklin was Creative Lead for the FEAR installation in White Box Gallery at the University of Dayton. It ran from November 10, 2015 – December 17, 2015. She transformed the prior installation, titled Consumption, into the new FEAR iteration. In conjunction, Franklin also hosted a free workshop called “Altering Fear: An Altered Book Workshop” on Saturday, November 7, 2015 from 2-4.[31] [32]

From February 12, 2016 until March 4, 2016, Franklin’s exhibition Heavy Rotation was held at Lacuna Artist Lofts in Chicago. The show was comprised, in part, of paper works made from pulped album covers.[12] [33]

to take root among the stars was held at the Poetry Foundation from September 27, 2018 - January 24, 2019 and coincided with the publication of Under the Knife [34]

Speculative Retrievals at the Salina Art Center is a group exhibition which runs from June 7-July 28, 2019 and also features the work of Julia Goodman and Sahar Khoury, who are also paper artists. Franklin gave an artist’s talk at the opening. Franklin is also the artist-in-residence at the Salina Art Center Warehouse through June 23, 2019. In addition to other activities, Franklin plans to continue work on her “Heavy Rotation” series [35]

Franklin's work was the subject of a large solo exhibition, Solo(s), at DePaul Art Museum from September 8, 2022–February 19, 2023. Curated by Ionit Behar, Solo(s) highlighted the inherently collaborative nature of Franklin's visual art, which draws from poetry, music, and popular visual cultural.[36] The exhibition later traveled to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.[37]

On June 7, 2024, Franklin opened any bright spark, her first exhibition with the Chicago-based gallery Western Exhibitions.[38]

Books

Awards and fellowships

Quotes

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Body Archive Of Naima Brown. Tumblr. October 2013 .
  2. Web site: Arts Incubator. University of Chicago.
  3. Web site: Interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts, MFA. Columbia College. April 26, 2016.
  4. Web site: 8 Afrofuturist Artists You Need To Follow Right Now. Sabine Quetant. April 16, 2015. Blavity. April 25, 2016.
  5. Web site: Featured Visual Artist. Tidal Basin Press.
  6. Web site: Chicago Artist Assistance Program Grant. chicagoartistsresource.org.
  7. Web site: Krista Franklin. Blanc Chicago Art Gallery.
  8. Web site: FEATURE: Required Intelligence, Punk Artistry In The Midwest - Krista Franklin. afropunk.com. 12 March 2014 . April 25, 2016.
  9. Web site: Sixty Inches From Center » Black To The Future Series: An Interview with Krista Franklin. Hazel, Tempestt . May 28, 2012. The Chicago Arts Archive.
  10. Web site: Art. Krista Franklin. Afrofuturism. Afrosurrealism.. SUPERSELECTED - Black Fashion Magazine Black Models Black Contemporary Artists Art Black Musicians. 6 October 2014 . April 26, 2016.
  11. Web site: Steed, Munson . August 30, 2014. Meet artists Stephen Flemister and Krista Franklin. Rolling Out.
  12. Web site: Afrofuturist Artist Krista Franklin: And, Also, Too. Lee Ann Norman. JSTOR Daily. March 1, 2016. April 25, 2016.
  13. Book: Up Jump the Boogie: John Murillo, Martin Espada: 9780981913148: Amazon.com: Books. 978-0981913148. Murillo. John. 2010. Cypher Books .
  14. Web site: Thunder in Her Voice by Lita Hooper. willowlit.net. 5 August 2013 . April 26, 2016.
  15. Franklin. Krista. Oshun as Ohio Player(s). American Studies. 52. 4. 253. 10.1353/ams.2013.0128. 2153-6856. 2013. 144069960.
  16. Franklin. Krista. Ascension: (put your hands in the air). Callaloo. 29. 3. 910. Summer 2006. 10.1353/cal.2006.0142. 162314141. 1080-6512.
  17. Franklin. Krista. Seven Mixed Medium Collages. Ecotone. 3. 2. 44–52. 10.1353/ect.2008.0081. 2165-2651. 2008. 178692584.
  18. Web site: NU Arts Night brings Chicago artists to Northwestern. Go, Kimberly. The Daily Northwestern. May 21, 2015. April 25, 2016.
  19. Web site: Krista Franklin and the Grotesque. YouTube. 4 December 2013 .
  20. Web site: Profile: Krista Franklin. 4 June 2023 . Poetry Foundation.
  21. Web site: Krista Franklin. poetryfoundation.org. April 26, 2016.
  22. Web site: Bum Rush the Page. PenguinRandomhouse.com. April 25, 2016.
  23. Book: Gathering Ground. The University of Michigan Press. April 25, 2016.
  24. Sáma. Metta. Thomas. Greg. Close-Up Gallery: Teza. Black Camera. 4. 2. Spring 2013. 106–133. 1947-4237. 10.2979/blackcamera.4.2.106. 153369861.
  25. Web site: Poetry Slam Returns With New Award, Headliner Krista Franklin - UKNow. uky.edu. 23 November 2015 . April 25, 2016.
  26. Web site: Bronzeville's New Blanc Gallery featured by writer Kylie Zane for latest exhibit "Dreams In Jay Z Minor" by Amanda Williams and Krista Franklin - And The Ordinary People Said. chicagonow.com. November 23, 2012. April 25, 2016.
  27. Web site: Architecture Adjunct Associate Professor Amanda Williams Featured In "New Dreams in Jay-Z Minor" Exhibit. today.iit.edu. 2019-06-09.
  28. Web site: Library of Love UChicago Arts The University of Chicago. arts.uchicago.edu. 2019-06-09.
  29. Web site: "Like Water": A Solo Exhibition of Works by Krista Franklin.
  30. News: Aolie, Peyton . Krista Franklin's Like Water exhibit explores female ability to shapeshift. The Chicago Maroon. October 15, 2015. April 25, 2016.
  31. Web site: Face it. daytoncitypaper.com. April 25, 2016.
  32. Web site: FEAR Makes Its Way Into ArtStreet's IAN Installation Series : University of Dayton, Ohio. www.udayton.edu. 2019-06-09.
  33. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/art-party-presents-krista-franklin-heavy-rotation-tickets-20533615597 "ART PARTY presents Krista Franklin: Heavy Rotation"
  34. Web site: Krista Franklin: "...to take root among the stars.". 2019-06-09. Poetry Foundation. en. 2019-06-09.
  35. Web site: Passion for Papermaking. Demuth. Gary. Salina Journal. en. 2019-06-09.
  36. Web site: Solos Krista Frankin Exhibitions DePaul Art Museum DePaul University, Chicago . 2024-06-08 . resources.depaul.edu.
  37. Web site: Solo(s): Krista Franklin . 2024-06-08 . Fine Arts Center . en-US.
  38. Web site: https://westernexhibitions.com/exhibition/krista-franklin/ . 2024-06-08 . westernexhibitions.com.
  39. Web site: D. Denenge Akpem . July 2, 2011 . 'Are you ready to alter your destiny?': Chicago and Afro-Futurism, Part 1 of 2 . April 26, 2016 . chicagoartmagazine.com.
  40. Web site: On Blackness Re-imagined: A Performance and Conversation with Krista Franklin and Michael Warr. WBEZ. May 19, 2012.
  41. Web site: Stitched Together: Krista Franklin Discusses "Under the Knife". 2019-01-01. Newcity Lit. en-US. 2019-06-09.
  42. Web site: Franklin . Krista . Too Much Midnight . 2023-06-17 . haymarketbooks.org.
  43. Book: Solo(s): Krista Franklin . DePaul Art Museum . Franklin . Krista . en . Behar . Ionit.
  44. Web site: Krista Franklin.
  45. Book: Derricotte . T. . Eady . C. . Dungy . C. T. . (Organization) . Cave Canem . Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem's First Decade . University of Michigan Press . 2006 . 978-0-472-06924-8 . April 25, 2016.
  46. Web site: Artist Programs » Artist Grants. Foundation. Joan Mitchell. joanmitchellfoundation.org. 12 December 2018 . en. 2019-06-09.
  47. Web site: Two Alums Named Recipients of 2018 Joan Mitchell Foundation Grants.
  48. Web site: KRISTA FRANKLIN – The Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier Charitable Foundation For the Arts . 2023-06-17 . en-US.

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