Mickalene Thomas Exhibition at Brooklyn Museum

I was thrilled to be invited to attend the press review of Mickalene Thomas: Origin of the Universe at the Brooklyn Museum opening today and running until January 20, 2013. I first viewed a painting of hers in the Contemporary art section of this museum several years ago and fell in love with it. It really impressed me. What struck me was her use of rhinestones in her work. It made the work very 2 dimentional and interesting. I went in to the mini conference with the goal of asking her a question and getting a quote on her use of rhinestones. 11 am: coffee and danish 11:30: comments by director and artists Thomas: "It is a great opportunity being a Brooklynite." Thank yous. (Exhibition gives) "view of my studio practice; great insight..." It also gives the viewer the opportunity to watch a film about her mother directed by Mickalene herself and in which she approaches her subject (her mother) from a personal documentary point of view. It is a "tribute to my mother" titled Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman (30 minutes). Her mother is no object. ... When comments were over, I approached Mickalene and asked about her use of rhinestones. MT: Like to work with untraditional matter. Gravitated towards rhinestones. Influenced by pointillism; French impressionists...like to use craft material... Want to investigate notions of beauty... conceptually adds another layer... notions of masking, artifice... folk art influence. Bringing craft into high art. Mini-conference over. I began my walk through Origin of the Universe with audio guide in hand. The title of the exhibition is derived from a Gustave Courbet 1866 painting titled Origine du Monde. Thomas: exhibition "challenges conventional parameters of western art history." Many of the works in the series on view take as its original reference the paintings of Manet, Courbet and Ingres and recasts the white subjects with black (clothed) female ones. The titular first work in the series, however, is a black female nude (up close and personal). My personal favorites are the portraits: Din,Une Tres Belle Negresse 1 and 2. I like how the eyes, lips and jewelry are composed of rhinestones. Her portraits celebrate African-American women.