Sanford Biggers
Sanford Biggers a versatile multimedia artist was born in Los Angeles, California in 1970 and now resides in New York City. Biggers earned a Bachelors of Art from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and continued to study and received a Masters at the School of Art Institute of Chicago, IL. Sanford has won several awards including New York Foundation for the Arts Award in performance art/multidisciplinary work, Tanne Foundation Award, a Camille Hanks-Cosby fellowship and numerous more.
Biggers work consists of sculptures, installations, videos, and performances and often references urban culture and African American culture. In 2002, Biggers collaborated with artist Jennifer Zackin and created a silent video projection called, A Small World… comparing their childhoods. The video projection runs approximately 6:30 minutes and was compiled from the artists’ family home videos. While watching the video it is apparent that Stanford was trying to show how children with such different backgrounds are actually very similar. I found this piece to be very engaging and alluring. My project last semester dealt with capturing photos of a variety of occasions, which portray typical family traditions. Consequently, I felt a connection to Biggers A Small World…when I saw his work for it dealt with culture.
Biggers own culture and rituals influence a large amount of his work. In his piece called Hip Hop Ni Sasagu (In Fond Memory of Hip Hop), Sanford created a series of singing bowls from melted down jewelry and performed a bell ceremony at the Soto Zen Temple in Japan. With sixteen participants Sanford allowed them to hit the singing bowls when they felt it was appropriate. According to Biggers, “It was a way of bringing each person’s aesthetics into the piece.”
I am very fond of Sanford Biggers development of his projects and how he brings every aspect together to create successful work.
Sanford Biggers, A Small World..., 6:30 min silent color dvd.
Sanford Biggers, Blossom, 12ft x 18ft x 15ft, silk, steel, wood
Sanford Biggers, Hip Hop Ni Sasagu, video runs 10:13 min color with sound
Sanford Biggers, Sticky Fingers, 10ft x 5 ft x 6.9ft
Leather, wood, steel, faux fur, mattress
“There was a time when I believed all artists had a specific role. But I realized this
was naïve and overly idealistic. I think I may play several roles as an artist; part historian,
part provocateur, part polemicist...”—Sandford Biggers
Website: http://www.sanfordbiggers.com/
Gallery: Resurrectine, Feldman Gallery New York, NY may 15-june 26
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