Introduction
Art is something which has always been admired by me. There are several artists whom I simply love and among those artists a name which I really admire is that of Jimmie Durham. Yes, Durham is someone whom I feel has the ability to produce strange and unique sculptures. Every work of his has a message, however to understand that message you need to see Durham’s work from his own eye.
About Durham
Jimmie Durham was born in the year 1940. He is someone who is predominantly known for his sculpturing, poetry and essaying. Durham has been very active in politics as well; particularly he was very vocal during the civil rights movement regarding African Americans in the USA. He also has the privilege of serving in the Center Council of AIM movement. The majority of artworks produced by Durham have received lot of recognition – in fact he is someone whose work is frequently exhibited.
Career In Arts
During his stay in the city of New York, Durham focused more on visual art. He began to produce sculptures that gave a serious challenge to the conventional representations of Indians (North American). He also published as well as exhibited a lot of essays. During the 1980s he also had the privilege of directing the Community of Arts established in New York. During the year 1983 the famous West End Press published a book of his by the name of Columbus Day. The book was full of wonderful poems.
In the year 1987 Durham made a major decision of moving to Mexico. He chose the region of Cuernavaca in this regard. He continued his art work in Mexico and exhibited some of his masterpieces as well. Most of his exhibits were displayed in reputed destinations like Institute of Contemporary Arts and Whitney Biennial etc. During his stay in Mexico Durham continued writing essays as well. Most of these essays got published in a number of periodicals as well. The names of some of these periodicals are Third Text, Art Forum and Art Journal.
After living for quite some time in Mexico, Durham decided to quit this country. His next home was Europe. He moved to Berlin, Germany in the year 1994. After living for some time in Berlin he decided to shift to Naples. During his stay in Naples, Durham gave more attention to national narratives, architecture and monumentality. Most of his anti-architectural videos, sculptures and performances liberate material of an architectural nature from its links with monumentality, permanence and stability.
Most of Durham’s works in Europe have been exhibited in places like Venice Biennale and Kunstverein Munich etc. In the year 2006 some of his works were exhibited in Serralves Foundation as well. The foundation is located in Portugal. Serpentine Rouge, a famous sculpture produced by Durham, was installed in France (Indre).
Books
Durham has written many wonderful books as well. Different books of his dealt with different subjects. The names of some of his most famous books are A Certain Lack of Coherence, Waiting to be Interrupted: Selected Writings 1993-2012, Columbus Day and Jimmie Durham: In Europe.
Sculptures And Other Art Works
The names of some of the most reputed sculptures of Durham are Malinche, St. Frigo, Bedia’s Muffler and Self-Portrait (Pretending to Be Maria Thereza Alve).
Conclusion
Jimmie Durham is without any doubt the kind of person who is blessed with some serious skills and abilities. His works are an inspiration for future artists.
