The last time we saw Shawn Dunwoody in person he was spinning records at the Bop Shop. Of course we see his work everywhere in the city. Shawn is a dynamo, and we got a chance to hear him talk about his projects at the Memorial Art Gallery yesterday. The auditorium was full. Shawn has a lot of fans.
Creating murals on buildings, walls, and roads is so much more involved than just painting. Shawn brings life to some of the most run-down parts of our city. He can secure large quantities of paint from Sherwin-Williams, and convince companies or the City of Rochester to allow him to transform the cityscape. His projects involve and lift up the communities there. There is real power in his art.
When Shawn’s talk finished we took in the MAG’s new show, “Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden.” According to the notes, “music was a fixture in John Rhoden’s creative and personal life—his studio space was outfitted with a concert grand Steinway piano that Richanda, his wife, would play as he worked.” The MAG’s Spotify setlist of the music that inspired Rhoden includes plenty of Thelonious Monk.
The MAG partnered with Garth Fagan Dance to explore the rhythmic qualities of Rhoden’s work and commissioned choreographer PJ Pennewell to create a series of short, original movements inspired by five sculptures in the exhibition. These performances are screened on the dark walls of the galleries and are as captivating as the sculpture.
