Nov 5, 2020 • View in browser

Good morning! 🌤️ Today, a report from an Election Day performance that took place on the streets of New York, looking at the ofrendas of Los Angeles, and reviews of Sam Gilliam and Etel Adnan.

Look out for a refreshed new look to Hyperallergic.com this afternoon. We’ve been busy.

— Hrag Vartanian

Remembering a Woman Who Fled Enslavement

Artist Robin Laverne Wilson, known as Dragonfly, embodied Ona Maria Judge Staines for her performance “Absconded.” (photo by Valentina Di Liscia for Hyperallergic)

As the national conversation focuses largely on taking historical figures off the pedestal, it’s also important to consider who should be remembered.

On a momentous Election Day on Tuesday, a roving street performance in New York City commemorated someone who too many Americans may not be familiar with: Ona Maria Judge Staines, a formerly enslaved woman who courageously fled from George and Martha Washington in 1796.

In Other News

The National Endowment for the Humanities has allocated $120,000 to repair and restore damaged public statues, and to create new ones in an effort to “revitalize public interest in American history.”

In India, a man named LA Khan was duped into buying “Aladdin’s lamp” for $46,100 after being promised that it would bring him wealth and health.

Latest Reviews

Sam Gilliam's Tactile Choreography of Colors

For six decades, Gilliam’s colors have swirled on canvases, his practice levitating above categorizations. For his latest exhibition, the artist has created what he calls a “dance” between three new bodies of work.

Danilo Machado

Etel Adnan Reflects on Aging With Gentle Hues

A sense of longing pervades Seasons, which opened at Galerie Lelong just as New York City reached peak autumn foliage.

Billy Anania

Stirring Video Art Questions the Notion of “Freedom”

Borders of Freedoms / Contornos de Libertad presents video work by six artists living in El Salvador and its diaspora.

Rachel Heidenry