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Alanna Airitam
Dapper Dan, The Golden Age, 2017
Estimated Value: $3,500
Archival pigment print mounted and finished by painting on archival varnish to seal, protect, and add texture for painterly effect
36 x 24 inches
Unframed
Edition 2/10
Signed, verso
Donated by the artist.
Weary from experiencing how people of color are treated, I felt called to create images of people who look like me with reverence and dignity. I began working on The Golden Age during the spring of 2017. During this process I came to recognize ways in which I’ve allowed negative projections of others to hold me back. I understood how uncomfortable I was in art spaces, that in so many non-spoken ways it became obvious we didn’t belong. This pained me because I would spend hours in the cool air of museums admiring the lighting in European Renaissance paintings while simultaneously feeling how far the whole experience was from my own reality.
It became important to create work as a tribute to Black culture while addressing how we’ve been omitted from art history as a whole. The Harlem Renaissance was our age of enlightenment, and I wanted to bring attention to the connections between the two time periods. The Dutch Renaissance arose in Haarlem, Netherlands from the Eighty Years’ War with Spain as the Harlem Renaissance was birthed from the remnants of the Civil War and Great Migration north. To pay homage to the Harlem Renaissance while recognizing 17th century Dutch portraiture, with the exception of Dapper Dan and The Queen, I named the portraits as saints along with a street name or landmark from Harlem as a way to commemorate the significance of this time in the midst of gentrification (i.e., Saint Sugar Hill, Saint Madison, Saint Monroe).
The Golden Age print, Dapper Dan was named after the iconic Harlem fashion designer who influenced high-fashion houses and the hip hop world and although not a landmark or street name, he continues to be a significant part of Harlem's living history.
About the Artist:
Alanna Airitam
Questioning generalized stereotypes and lack of fair and equal representation of people of color in art spaces has led artist Alanna Airitam to research critical historical omissions and how those contrived narratives represent and influence succeeding generations. Her photographic series “The Golden Age,” “Crossroads,” “White Privilege,” and individual works such as “Take a Look Inside” and “How to Make a Country” ask the viewer to question who they are and how they choose to be seen.
Airitam’s portraits and vanitas are photographed in studio with minimal lighting giving the work a painterly quality that captures the attention with beauty to deliver challenging messages. “The Golden Age” series is hand-varnished while “Crossroads,” “Take a Look Inside” and “How to Make a Country” are encased in resin and placed in hand-welded frames creating unique objects. All works are produced by the artist in limited editions.
Alanna Airitam is a 2020 Critical Mass Finalist. Her photographs have been exhibited at Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago, Quint Gallery in San Diego, San Diego Art Institute, Art Miami with Catherine Edelman, Athenaeum Art Center in San Diego, and Candela Gallery in Richmond, Virginia. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Airitam now resides in Tucson, Arizona.
Website: alannaairitam.com
Instagram: @alannaairitam
Venmo: @Alanna-Airitam
