The 26th issue is the Vietnamese-American designer’s most intimate project to date, inviting readers to explore the idea of home and understand the internal narratives of the shy designer.
A#22
Bibliography
A Magazine Curated By Grace Wales Bonner
In a series of Afro-Atlantic narratives, Grace Wales Bonner weaves together archival portfolios and historical ephemera to anoint the themes of her issue, subtitled Rhapsody in the Street, and commission new works within it.
A Magazine Curated By Grace Wales Bonner is a continuation of the research that the designer dedicates to her craft, diving deep into the literary and visual traditions documenting Blackness in fleeting pockets of history or as a part of a larger interconnected history. Rather than the monolith often portrayed by Eurocentric narratives, the designer muses on the complexities and nuances of the Black Atlantic expressed throughout various disciplines, from essays and poems to paintings and portraits. Between the collection of Black poetry and photography books, Bonner draws a continuous line starting from In Our Terribleness through the Sweet Flypaper of Life to the Sweet Breath of Life. Discover these references in dialogue with one another, informing a new generation of artists and culminating into A Magazine Curated By Grace Wales Bonner.
In Memory of Greg Tate, whose profound thoughts examining contemporary culture in Flyboy in the Buttermilk (1992) continue to inspire the artists featured in this edition and beyond.
List of Works
ALS, H. (2017) James Baldwin/Jim Brown and the Children. Online: The Arts Institute.
BARAKA, A. FUNDI. (1970) In Our Terribleness. Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., New York.
BALDWIN, J. (1956) Giovanni’s Room. Dial Press. New York.
CAMPT. T. (2017) Listening to Images. Duke University Press. Durham, North Carolina.
DECARAVA, R. (1955) The Sweet Flypaper of Life. Simon & Schuster. New York.
FOSSO, S. (2020) Autoportrait. Steidl. Göttingen, Germany.
GATES, H.L. (1987) Figures in Black. Oxford University Press, New York.
HAWKESWORTH, J. (2021) The British Isles. Mack. London.
HEMPHILL, E. (1989) Looking for Langston [Film excerpt]. British Film Insititute. London.
HEMPHILL, E. (1991) Brother To Brother. Alyson Publications. Boston.
HUGHES, L. (1926) The Weary Blues. Knopf Publishing Group. New York.
JOHNSON ARTUR, L. (2016) Liz Johnson Artur. Bierke Publishing. Berlin.
OKRI, B. (1999) Mental Fight. Phoenix House. London.
REED, I. (1972) Mumbo Jumbo. Doubleday. Garden City, N.Y.
REED, I. (1971) Catechism of d neoamerican hoodoo church. P. Breman. London.
SASSEN.V. (2012) Parasomnia. Prestel Publishing. London.
SEPUYA, P.M. (2012) Studio Work. Familiar. New York.
SEPUYA, P.M. (2020) Paul Mpagi Sepuya. Aperture. New York.
SHANGE. N. (2004) The Sweet Breath of Life. Simon & Schuster. London.
SIDIBÉ, M. (1998) Mali Twist. Xavier Barral. Paris.
SMITH, M. (2020) Ming Smith: An Aperture Monograph. Aperture. New York
SORY, S. (2017) Volta Photo. Reel Art Press/Morton Hill. London.
SORY, S. (2019) Peuple de la nuit. Stanley/Barker. London.
STREULI, B. (2019) Fabric of Reality. Lars Müller Publishers. Zurich.
READ MORE…
Mamma Andersson: Adieu Maria Magdalena
The Swedish artist’s monographic exhibition at David Zwirner Paris ponders heartbreak and nostalgia whilst blurring the textures of reality.
Josh Smith’s Carte Rouge, Paris & London
The American artist muses on the light of the end of the tunnel during this prolific period between his exhibition at David Zwirner and his sculpture for Frieze.