The Museum of African American Art opened a new exhibition featuring assemblage artist, Joseph Sims. (Messiyah McGinnis photos)
The Museum of African American Art opened a new exhibition featuring assemblage artist, Joseph Sims, in their home on the 3rd floor of Macy’s in the Crenshaw Mall. The exhibit, A Wondrous Collection of Things By Joseph, will run through December 31, 2016. The Art of Assemblage: features over 30 works.
Taught by his mentor and acclaimed artist, John Outterbridge, Sims describes his assemblages as being made up of “found objects” that are preformed natural or manufactured materials or fragments not originally intended as art materials. He combines old shoes, antiquated typewriters, LPs, telephones, the insides of obsolete computers, broken furniture, wire, clocks, paper, fabric, metal, rock, buttons, piano keys and countless oddities to create three-dimensional art works.
Sims is a native of Los Angeles who has studied at leading California institutions – Otis Art Institute, California State University at Los Angeles, and Chouinard Institute. He as served a Visual Merchandise Director at Macy’s for 40 years. His work has been exhibited throughout California and the east coast, from Los Angeles City Hall to the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Sims was at the forefront of the art explosion in Los Angeles during the 1970’s. He served as Chairman of the Brockman Gallery’s Street Graphics Committee, and is affiliated with the Los Angeles Assemblage Group, California Art Coalition, and is a frequent curator at Le Florence Art Gallery. His work has been featured in exhibits at the California African American Museum, William Grant Still Art Center, Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, and Glendale Adventist Medical Heart Wall collection.
Sims had a broad definition of art beyond the traditional. He supports the view point that the mere designation and relocation of any object, constitutes a modification of the object because it changes our perception of its utility, its lifespan, or its status.
The Museum of African American Art (MAAA) was founded in 1976 by noted artist and art historian Dr. Samella Lewis and a group of academic, artistic, business, and community leaders whose goal was to increase public awareness of art by African Americans and other Africans.
For more information on the MAAA, our exhibitions and programs, see the website: www.maaala.org
