The first exhibition to examine the transnational impact of hip-hop culture on contemporary art is currently on view at the Bronx Museum of the Arts through March 3. Entitled "One Planet under a Groove: Hip-Hop and Contemporary Art," the exhibit features the work of 30 visual artists based in the United States, Europe and Japan. Artists include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Davide Bertocchi, Sanford Biggers with David Ellis, Max King Cap, Juan Capistran, Mel Chin, Renee Green, David Hammons, Keith Haring, Nikki S. Lee, Chris Ofili, Erik Parker, Adrian Piper, Nadine Robinson, Dario Robleto, Douglas Ross, Sol Sax, Coreen Simpson, Susan Smith-Pinelo, Hisashi Tenmyouya and Martin Wong. These artists span several artistic generations, and their work reflects the evolution of hip-hop from an urban street culture to a billion-dollar industry, according to museum officials. Many of the works challenge hip-hop stereotypes.
Comprised of more than 60 works including paintings, sculpture, drawings, photographs, installations and videos, all created in the past two decades, the exhibit suggests that the frenetic, graffiti style of painting of artists like Basquiat and Haring evoke the "cutting" and "scratching" techniques of early hip-hop DJs.The exhibition's title plays off a similarly titled classic 1978 song by Funkadelic whose music has been widely sampled by hip-hop acts.
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