Working a white, square museum space isn’t the easiest gig, but [E]mpress is giving it her all. From a round stage at the center of the room, the local rapper whips her long braids and confidently strides into a crowd of teens, parents, teachers, and other curious onlookers who have no idea how to interact with a young, fabulous rap prodigy in this setting. After the set, two Portland Art Museum employees compare her to Kendrick Lamar, and I wonder how many hip-hop musicians they’re familiar with. They want her performance to align with the theme of Marvels., the exhibition taking place on the fourth floor of the museum’s Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art. While a comparison between [E]mpress and Lamar may be a stretch, [E]mpress’ bold performance and her use of the gallery to suit her artistic purposes certainly fits within the larger project housed here, which encourages new perspectives and communities to enter the museum and have a say in its future.
Marvels. is part of We. Construct. Marvels. Between. Monuments., Portland Museum of Modern Art Director Libby Werbel’s year-long programming project which began in November. The third of its five iterations (following We. and Construct.), Marvels. uses the instructions of the first social practice artwork that the Portland Art Museum acquired—Stephanie Syjuco’s notMOMA—to task 31 art students from Portland-area high schools to refabricate existing pieces of art that are currently on display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
