Jordan “Soup” Campbell: A•float
@ Compound Yellow
244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL 60302
Opening Saturday, May 7th, from 5:31PM - 7:22PM
On view through Tuesday, June 7th
Join us at Compound Yellow for the opening reception of A Float: a solo exhibition by Jordan “Soup” Campbell
Saturday May 7th
5:31 to 7: 22
Normal Saturday open hours are 2pm to 6pm
#244 Lake Street, Oak Park, Il
“The sun serves as a witness to the centuries of this earth and its existence before and after us. The radiance of the sun nourished fields of corn, added depth to the complexion of skin and was able to capture the wrestling of cattle. In all of its glory and memory, the influence of the sun made its mark on a distinct American people:, Black Cowboys. If one studied the chronicles of American History, they could assume that the existence of this group of people had no significance. The half truths of the John Waynes and Clint Eastwoods would find is left no room for tales of the Bass Reeves’ and the Nat Loves.
A•float not only catapults the lives of Black Cowboys to center stage, but it also intentionally acknowledges the inventors from the 19th century until now — the ones that have received a similar erasure from our history. For a while, I subscribed to this constant rotation of biased history. I’ve since begun peeling back the layers of Black culture, seeing how it rests within myself and understanding how it may manifest in different forms. Through my explorations as an artist, a Black Man of God, and a historian, I take the pages that have been whitewashed with the rhetoric of exclusivity and instead fill them with the pantheon of Black Folk who complete them.
As an artist and believer, it’s my role to reflect the times and be courageously creative. The culture we have soulfully permeated is now as reflective as diamonds. Our ideas, concepts, and movements have been crystallized in spite of unwanted and undeserved pressures. In this work, I am thinking about the spirit that motivated these inventors and Cowboys alike. The historical impact of these trailblazers, but also the right-now-ness of it.”
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Tags: A•float, Compound Yellow, Jordan C Campbell, Oak Park
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