Susan Smith-Pinelo Explained

Susan Smith-Pinelo
Birth Place:	Laie, Hawaii, United States
Nationality:	American
Field:	contemporary art, video
Alma Mater:	Oberlin College (BFA), Columbia University (MFA)

Susan Smith-Pinelo is an African-American artist noted for her work in video and performance. She lives and works in Washington, DC.^[1]

Education

Smith-Pinelo received a B.F.A. from Oberlin College in 1991.^[2] She received a M.F.A. from Columbia University^[3] in 2000.

Work

Susan Smith-Pinelo's work challenges conceptions of black identity and gender in rap music,^[4] and is particularly concerned with questioning the misogyny of the genre.^[5] For example, her 2001 Studio Museum in Harlem installation Sometimes has a close-up video of a black woman's breasts with a necklace saying "ghetto" around her neck dancing to music which sounds through the museum. Sometimes plays with form in order to "confront perceptions of black identity and femininity."^[6]

Awards and fellowships

Among the honors which Susan Smith-Pinelo has earned are:

Joan Sovern Sculpture Award (1999)

Selected exhibitions

Susan Smith-Pinelo’s work has been featured in exhibitions at numerous galleries and institutions including:^[7]

• Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France Playback (2007)
• Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland black alphabet (2006)
• Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York City, USA Music/Video (2006)
• Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, Germany One Planet Under A Groove (2003)
• Longwood Arts Project, New York City, USA DL: The “Down Low” in Contemporary Art (2003)
• The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA Fantasy Underfoot - The 47th Biennial Exhibition (2002)
• Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg, USA Forum - Hello, My Name Is... (2002)
• Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York City, USA One Planet Under a Grove: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art (2001)
• Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, USA "Third Annual Altoids Curiously Strong Collection" (2001)^[8]
• The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York City, USA Freestyle (2001)

Collections

Smith-Pinelo's work is held in permanent collections including:

• Norton Family Foundation, Los Angeles, USA
• Altoids Curiously Strong Collection/New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, USA

External links

• Susan Smith-Pinelo, Sometimes, 2000

Notes and References

1. Rubin. Courtney. High Voltage. Washingtonian Magazine. August 2002. 37. 11. 46–7.
2. Web site: Susan Smith-Pinelo. Kenny Schachter Rove. 2 March 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20040817104048/http://www.rovetv.net/susansmith.html. 17 August 2004.
3. Web site: Visual Arts Alumni Archive: Susan Smith-Pinelo. Columbia University School of the Arts. 2 March 2016.
4. Murray. Derek. Home to Harlem. International Review of African American Art. 2001. 17. 4. 48–51.
5. Murray. Derek Conrad. Hip-Hop vs. High Art: Notes on Race as Spectacle. Art Journal. 2004. 63. 2. 4–19. 10.1080/00043249.2004.10791121. 193103367.
6. Murray. Derek. 2001. Home to Harlem. International Review of African American Art. 17.
7. Web site: Susan Smith-Pinelo, US. ArtFActs. 1 March 2016.
8. Web site: Third Annual Altoids Curiously Strong Collection. Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. 3 March 2016.