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Fahamu PECOU

For many years, Fahamu Pecou has been examining the aesthetic codes of African-American society, particularly the dress code of young Black people in the United States and its relationship to the world of hip-hop.
With a doctoral thesis in philosophy on Black culture in North America, Fahamu Pecou lectures around the world about the place of Black men in Western societies. He is also a videographer, singer-songwriter, and performer.

He works on the community, ritual, and expressive implications for Black men, and more specifically on the traditions and customs which, in traditional cultures, in addition to their aesthetic values, define everyone's status and position.
These codes, which are less and less practiced in Africa, were largely taken up from the 1990s onwards by young Black people internationally, and particularly in the United States in the world of hip-hop.

The work Icarus is part of the series « I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD BLINGS ». The word « blings » does not have an exact translation in French; we speak of bling-bling, of flashy, in reference to the ostentatious jewelry worn by the world of hip-hop.

The title of the series and the work are inspired by the verses of Maya Angelou, a figure in the civil rights movement in the United States. In Greek mythology, Icarus died for getting too close to the sun with his wings made of feathers and wax...

«…But a bird that stalk down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing…»

«… The bird that wanders in its narrow cage rarely sees through the bars of its rage; its wings are clipped and its feet are tied; so it opens its beak to sing…»

Biography

Fahamu Pecou is an American artist born in 1975 in New York. He lives and works in the United States.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

  • 2017 / Ph. D. Institute of Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta.
  • 2017 / M.A. Institute of Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta.
  • 1997 / B.F.A. Painting/Digital Art, Atlanta College of Art.
  • 1996 / Independent Study/Painting, Spelman College, Atlanta.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS – SELECTION

  • 2021 / “THE SPACE BETWEEN”, Hambidge Cross-Pollination Art Lab, Fulton Public Art.
  • 2020 / Praise Songs, Montresso Fondation, Jardin Rouge, Marrakech.
  • 2019 / MEMORY, Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn, NY.
  • 2019 / Do or Die: Affect, Ritual, Resistance, The African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA.
  • 2019 / Do or Die, Emory University, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Atlanta, GA.
  • 2018 / Do or Die, University of New Hampshire’s Museum of Art, Durham, NC.
  • 2017 / Miroirs de l’homme, Société Générale, La Défense – Paris.
  • 2017 / Music As A Weapon, SEATTLE ART FAIR, WA.
  • 2016 / Do or Die, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC.
  • 2016 / Talking Drum, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta, GA.
  • 2015 / Imagining New Worlds : José Parlá and Fahamu Pecou, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA.
  • 2015 / GRAV • I • TY, Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, GA.
  • 2014 / WORD.SOUND.POWER, The Arts Company, Nashville, TN.
  • 2011 / Sophisticated Ignorance, Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, GA.
  • 2010 / Passage of Right: Call & Response, McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, NC.
  • 2010 / Something Like a Fahamenon: ‘90s Jam, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Charlotte, NC.
  • 2007 / Million Dolla Baby, Lyons Wier Ortt, New York, NY.
  • 2003 / Dar La Luz, The Rotunda at the Roosevelt, Atlanta, GA.
  • 2001 / Bible Stories: An Installation by Fahamu Pecou, The Gilbert House, Atlanta, GA.
  • 2001 / Muse, Apache Cafe, Atlanta, GA.
  • 2000 / Anges de Nuit, The Crescent Room, Atlanta, GA.

AWARDS

  • 2020 / State Fellowship of South Arts visual arts.
  • 2015 / Robert A. Paul Award, Emory University.
  • 2012 / West Collects Prize, West Collection.
  • 2011 / Emerging Artist Award, NBAF Interpretations Gala.
  • 2009 / Artadia Award.

RESIDENCIES

  • 2020 / Jardin Rouge, Montresso Foundation, Marrakech.
  • 2014 / Guest Editor, Art Papers Magazine “Art x Hip-Hop”.
  • 2013 / Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, Nellie Mae Rowe Fellowship.
  • 2013 / Working Artist Fellowship, Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.
  • 2010 / Harvey B. Gantt Center, Charlotte, NC.
  • 2010 / The McColl Center, Charlotte, NC.
  • 2008 / The Caversham Center, Printmaking, Balgowan, South Africa.
  • 2004 / Taller Portobelo, Portobelo, Panama.
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