Clarion Vol 14: Julius Eastman and Glenn Ligon: Evil Nigger
Curator’s Note: A Stranger in the Village
Excerpt:
In 2020, during a podcast conversation with the artist Alima Lee, I asked, “What song do you have on repeat?” She replied, “Evil Nigger by Julius Eastman.” That moment stayed with me, not just because of the song but because of how Eastman’s work continues to surface in unexpected places, while attracting new listeners and creating new standards.
When I was conceptualizing this exhibition, its title, Evil Nigger, became an extension of my interest in how words and ideas are formed specifically to strategically, or dismissively, understand black art within the canon. It also became central to broader ques-tions: How does language shape the way we receive and remember art? What does it mean to name something in a way that ensures both presence and exclusion? How does repetition—of sound, words, and history—transform meaning over time?
